How to Raise a Viking
by BlueRivers
Summary: An child born on the night of a dragon attack. An fallen hero. Kari was born a Viking and a Viking she will be raised to be. Set before How To Train Your Dragon movie one. First part of an series. Rated Teen for violence. No parings.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own the How to Train a Dragon franchise

Claimer: I do own my own characters and other things you don't recognize. So please as before using.

Summary: Finding out the only child you will ever have is gifted by the gods but will curse their mother is not the news Asmund the Great wanted to hear. It wasn't going to be hard enough to raise the child of the two most stubborn Vikings on Berk now he had to raise and child of a prophecy. Things just never work out for the Eld family. They always seem to get sucked into the crazy things in life. The older they get the harder it is to protect them and when the village might just try to kill them if they knew the truth it's quite difficult to raise a child.

"How to Raise a Viking"

Chapter 1 "Child of Night of Dragons,"

Eld was a powerful name on Berk. Everyone knew them or at least of them. Ingrid and Asmund were the fiercest dragon slayers of their generations that hadn't lost a single limb. Asmund and Ingrid starting slaying young and made quite a life for themselves. No one ever thought the two most stubborn Vikings on Berk would get married or have a child. One thing everyone expect was for them to produce the most powerful dragon slaying heroes Berk had ever seen.

For Ingrid even having a child has seemed like a dream. Ever since she was born she had been told her she could not have children. She was the happiest pregnant woman around. No one understood what the Elder one had meant by Ingrid being infertile. As she got farther along the more difficult it was. She got bigger than a full-grown yack but no one dared say a word. She got to the point where she was bedridden, which was no easy task for any Viking let along a dragon killing one.

Being bedridden was also very dangerous on Berk. If you can't leave bed you are good as dragon meat. That was a threat that worried Asmund. He couldn't be killing dragons and keeping his wife safe. But he had a duty to Berk not that Ingrid would have let him disobey Stoick anyways. But that didn't make leaving her that night any easier but he had a duty that had to do, no matter the fact he was tired of killing dragons. He would never admit it but Asmund wasn't too sure dragons were as bad as they seemed. Sometimes he could see fear in their eyes. But he killed dragons for a living, he couldn't afford such thinking.

Ingrid could hear the roar of dragons. She yearned to be out there fighting them but she also yearned to be a mother. She had a lot of time to think these days. She wasn't sure what she was going to do when she had her baby. She knew if it wasn't a boy she would have to go through this again. That is just the way it is. She hated that thought. As she laid thinking as a pain shot through Ingrid. The first time she didn't think anything of it. She had been stuck in bed for weeks probably just a cramp. Then it happened again. That seemed odd. But then it happened a third time and she knew she was going into labor. There was no one to help. Panic was threatening to rise in her. It seemed like a lifetime of agony. She yelled out in pain. No one had told her it hurt this much. She screamed out aid to Frigg. Her prayer was answered when it just happened two Vikings walked near the house and heard the yells of panic. Expected to find Ingrid without a limb or nearly dead they darted inside. Instead they walked into Ingrid in mid-labor. The two Vikings were Valka, the chief's wife, and Spitelout, the chief's half-brother. Valka had recently just had her son but she had never witness labor from a third person view. Spitelout knew nothing, his wife had given birth two months ago but he still didn't have any clue. Valka had to take the lead. Ingrid's screaming was bound to attract dragons. Besides Ingrid's screaming getting louder there was no sign before the tiny little baby flew out. Spitelout caught the tiny slimy pink baby before it hit the floor. It squirmed and wailed. Valka wrapped the baby in a raccoon skin. The screaming baby wiggled in Valka's arms until she gave the baby to Ingrid. The tiny little baby stopped screaming instantly. Ingrid looked at the little baby in her arms. So small and innocent. She lifted the raccoon skin to see it was a little girl. The cries of the baby had eventually drawn the unwanted attention from dragons. A few seconds later the roof of the house was torn wide open by an Timberjack. Despite the pain Ingrid grabbed her axe. She hid the baby under the bed. Ingrid swung her axe at the dragon. Ingrid, Valka and Spitelout danced around the fire trying to keep it away from the bed. The tail whacked the bed. The bed flew across the room. The newborn baby was now exposed to the dragon. Everyone froze as the dragon sniffed the baby. The baby cried when it snorted into her face. The dragon became distressed by the crying baby and shot out lighting randomly. Spitelout managed to do a flying somersault to grab the baby. The baby stopped crying and stared at Spitelout. Spitelout hid the baby behind an extra shield that was lying around. Before Spitelout even got back to fighting the dragon was dead. Ingrid was groaning in pain. It was clear to see that her left leg was gone. Asmund arrived home to find his home ripped wide open. He ran inside. People had already gathered around. He found his wife in a severe amount of pain as her left leg was gone and she had just given birth after all. His first thoughts was of the baby, which the one and only Spitelout of all the Vikings was hold. Spitelout handed Asmund the tiny raccoon bundle. Everything melted away when Asmund looked down at the tiny baby in his arms. He looked under the raccoon wrap, it was a little girl. The most beautiful thing he had ever seen next to his wife. The little red curls peaking out of the wrap and the one open emerald green eye glaring at him. This was his daughter, Kari Ase Eld. This was his pride and joy. There was not a single ounce of anger left in him; not at the dragons, himself, or Spitelout and Valka for not finding him. His life changed. Little did he know how much more it would change.

That night changed a lot of things in Berk. Ingrid the Intelligent was no longer able to hunt. With a missing left leg and barely capable of caring for herself. That also left Asmund the Ambitious only able to do hunting some of the time. That left a huge problem. The two best dragon hunters were missing. It weakened Berk during dragon attacks, which lead to the dragon attack that took Valka. Things were tense among the Elds and the chief. And nothing was looking about for Berk. Until the day the Elder visited the Elds. The news that was delivered could be taken in many different ways.

Gothi tells a prophecy in the dirt to Asmund. A child of the night of the dragons will be gifted by the gods but cursed the one that brought her into the world. Privately she tells Asmund more then she told Stoic for the sake of the toddler. She tells Asmund that Kari will be the rise of a new age and the fall of the current age and that she will develop gifts that no one can imagine, but she must be taught to control it or she could destroy not only Berk but all the islands nearby. In most cases Asmund would say kill the child but this was his daughter. The only child he was ever going to have. He would protect and teach her. He didn't know how long he had left with Ingrid so he had to do what she would want him to do for Kari.

Ingrid didn't get sick like Gothi said nor did she get worse. She actually got better. She was speaking and moving again. She wasn't fighting dragons but Asmund was back into the business, which made everyone happy. But Ingrid wasn't happy with her husband killing dragons. Ingrid had changed. She could see they were not dangerous beats but scared animals.

Asmund and Ingrid did things different with Kari. After all that had happened Ingrid was unable to have any more children due to what the dragon did to her left leg. So Kari meant the world to both of them but they were still Vikings and Gothi was clear they had to teach Kari everything they could. Ingrid never gave in when Kari cried after being changed and fed. It annoyed the rest of the village but Ingrid ignored people's pleas. She was going to raise her child the way she wanted to. Besides their parenting style Ingrid and Asmund were still a married couple that loved each other. Many Vikings didn't know how to express themselves in words but Ingrid and Asmund did.

"Asmund, there is something different about her. Have you noticed that our house has been untouched by the dragons when they attack? The night she was born that Timberjack could have killed her but didn't," said Ingrid her voice soft and gentle. The mothering soothing sound that no one besides Kari and Asmund would ever hear.

"I know love but we can only suspect about the gifts Gothi spoke of. We can only hope that it is something we can teach her to control and hide it," said Asmund softly so no one could hear.

"She's going to need us when she is small but something tells me that we won't always be able to protect her. There will come a day where she'll have to use her gifts she's been born with. We just have to give her the tools to take care of herself," said Ingrid.

"Do you think we may be wrong about the dragons? Is there any reason that Timberjack didn't kill her? Why would the gods bless her and curse you?" asked Asmund only saying what he is thinking.

"This has changed my views. I see much more than I could before. You will one day see too. She's going to be able to always see what I see now. We haven't seen such curse yet. We must not question the gods not no matter how much what they do hurts," said Ingrid. She didn't doubt the curse. She had gone against the Elder and had a child. She would feel the wrath of the gods for her disobedience but until then she had to raise her daughter.

The problem came when Asmund only started to kill to defend and Ingrid gave up dragon fighting. No one thought the day the Eld family would give up dragon fighting would come but it did. The loss was a factor into what happened the night Valka was taken. Asmund nearly left the island after that but he refused to give into himself and most of the village. He was an Eld, and Elds never give up. Asmund and Ingrid held their own for a long time without any help for anyone until things cooled down.

But eventually conflict started to occur. Stoic and Spitelout were always fighting over what they should be doing. Then one day Asmund knocked both of them off their high a mighty pestle they both had made for themselves. Berk was defenseless with their chief and second in command fighting. Asmund's popularity returned as he took control of his own fate. This was a job that would keep him alive and do well for Berk. Asmund became third in command. Mostly it meant managing the docks and ships.

Meanwhile, Ingrid became the village healer learning from the Elder herself. Keeping an infant around sick and dying people was not an option leaving Kari down at the docks. Which led to a lot of near drowning situations but she was the first to learn to swim or at least float. No one believed in Gothi's prophecy since Ingrid was still alive and well.

Most parents keep their toddlers away from sharp things and dangerous waters with eels and many other things that may kill a human. But Asmund did things different. Stoic never wanted to leave Hiccup with Asmund afraid of what would happen. Asmund let Kari learn from consequence as long as she wasn't trying to maim herself. This turned out not to be a bad idea once the horde of toddlers running around started to find new exciting ways to try to kill themselves because by then Kari would think about the pain she may suffer. However the time she ate poisonous berries was a teaching moment for Asmund as a parent, when fishing never let your two-year-old eat berries when you don't know where they found them. It passed right through Kari's system thanks to Gothi and Ingrid.

Ingrid found that she was not the best mother. She was never able to teach Kari. She only screamed at her, which does nothing with a two-year-old besides make her throw things or scream back. She did not know how to be a gentle caring mother. She only knew the Viking way. Even at two it was clear the Kari didn't respond to the Viking way. Sure she threw toys and was a pain in the ass but she was no dragon killer. Kari preferred Asmund over her and that broke Ingrid's heart. Maybe she was cursed after all. Maybe her curse was that she'd never be a mother to her daughter only a thorn in her side.

Kari's gifts didn't really show their selves the first three years of her life, only a few strange things. The first time Asmund ever discovered anything about Kari's gifts was when she was three-years-old and he had been fishing. A Terrible Terror jumped out of the bush. Asmund was ready to spear the creature when it tackled Kari and started to lick and purr. Kari talked to the dragon in a gibberish that pleased the dragon. Asmund was astounded. He had figured out why the dragons left them alone. Kari was able to speak to them. This was very much a dangerous gift. If any villagers knew they'd kill her. If Stoic knew he'd use her to kill every single dragon.

Ingrid became very bitter. She sat mostly with herself. Kari was more a nuisance than a gift. She never paid much attention to the little girl. That didn't stop Kari's love. Ingrid couldn't see the love her daughter had for her. Asmund could do nothing to show Ingrid because when you are married to the second most stubborn person on the island there is nothing you can do make them listen even if you are the most stubborn person on the island. He could only hope Ingrid would see the truth as Kari got older. Love was powerful. It could bring down a while fleet. Asmund had seen it happen again and again. It can bring together a village or destroy it. He didn't know much about the future but he did know one thing no matter what he would love both of the women in his life no matter what the future holds.

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><p>Author's Note;<p>

I know there isn't much dialogue and a lot of description but the next chapter will be evenly balanced. Please leave a review, all comments are welcome. Everyone give thanks to RedDragonforce 1 for beta-reading my story and catching my grammar mistakes. Trust me it gets much better. Please leave a review, it is coffee for the soul.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the How to Train a Dragon franchise

**Claimer:** I do own my own characters and other things you don't recognize. So please as before using.

**WARNING:** Viking violence not for anyone under the age of thirteen.

**"How to Raise a Viking"**

**Chapter 2 "The Life of a Viking"**

Asmund spent half of his time chasing those Thorston twins away from the docks. For five-year-old they were a lot of trouble. The last thing he needed was kids drowning or getting shipped off on a dragon hunt. Soon he'd be chasing them off so they don't board ships that are going off on a hunt soon that they are purposely trying to board. The only child that was seen often on the docks was Kari since she was the only one that had learned to swim and anything that happened to her was only Asmund's problem.

Kari was getting big already. Asmund hated that fact. She was getting more stubborn by the day. She was harder to control and was getting a mind of her own. A dagger wielding stubborn six-year-old could be a very big problem when they don't listen. Kari was stubborn but she wasn't stupid. She knew how far to push before finding something else to do. She was ahead of her peers in her knowledge but that came with a reasonability that a six-year-old wasn't always prepared for.

Ingrid didn't not waste time nurturing. She jumped right into the life skills. She taught Kari to fish and to use daggers when she was just five years old. Now they had moved on to axes and hunting. They often went into the forest for a day or two to live in the wild. Stoic didn't feel great about letting them go but he knew even if he told Ingrid no she'd still do it. Kari didn't like it but being as stubborn as she was she would never admit it that she hated it.

"Come on girl, we want to set up camp before it gets late," said Ingrid. Kari glared at her mother when Ingrid's back was turned. There was nothing worse to Kari then being called girl.

"Coming mother," said Kari. She picked up the bait box, attached her daggers to her belt, her fishing pole and the miniature axe her father had made for her. She dragged her feet slowly out of the house. This was just crazy but then again her mother was crazy; that much Kari knew.

Ingrid had a good twenty feet on Kari and kept the pace fast but slow enough not to lose Kari. They were traveling farther than they had ever gone before. They traveled deep into the forest to where no one dared to go. They stopped in a deserted part where barely anything grew. Kari had a bad feeling about the place. As her mother unpacked Kari put a hand to the ground. She could feel anger, hatred, and evil. This was a very dangerous place. It was cursed.

"Mom, this is not a good place to camp," said Kari.

"It's called improvising," said Ingrid glaring at Kari.

"Not what I meant. This land is cursed, I can sense it," said Kari staring right into her mother's icy blue eyes. No matter how much she stared into them she could not melt away the ice that divided her mother and her.

"Nonsense, you listen to much to Gothi," said Ingrid "there are no such things as curses."

Kari wandered away from the clearing to fish. She loved to fish. She carried her daggers and axe for protection. She was not good with axe but she could use it without cutting her own limbs off. She found a pond and cashed her fishing line into the water. She sensed that she was not alone. She pretended like she couldn't feel it. She could feel the breath. She could hear the whispers in her ear. She reeled in her first fish. She slowly turned around. She found herself face to face with a young dragon not quite an adult but not a baby either but it was still huge. It was old enough to defend for itself. She had never seen a dragon so beautiful. It had a woody brown body with a cream underbelly and blue highlights. It had smashed face with head frills. The tail consisted of two parallel fins. It had fore-talons that were nearly sharp enough to pick a dragon trap. It reminded Kari of an owl.

"Hi, there, you're a pretty dragon," said Kari.

The dragon popped its head up and down. Kari smiled. She was not afraid of the dragon. She knew it was just as scared as she was. She stared deep into dragon's eyes unafraid of joining the dragon's menu.

"Munch-Munch," said Kari holding out the fish. The dragon cautiously took the fish. It ate the fish then tossed half it back up for Kari. She knew what it wanted but it didn't mean she wanted to do it. It looked at her expectantly. She took a bite and swallowed it praying to the gods it didn't make her sick. The dragon grinned at her. She looked into the dragon and saw herself.

"You just stay away from the other da wingless," said Kari. Speaking Dragonese seemed to work with this dragon. It must be a very intelligent species is what Kari hypothesized, well in her six year old mind concluded.

The dragon bowed its head. Kari reached out a hand and touched between its eyes. It stared her right in between the eyes before taking off into the sky. That is when Kari saw the dragon had two sets of wings that looked like the X when it displayed them for her until it shot away. She couldn't believe how beautiful it was. She hoped no one on Berk ever caught it.

Later on, Kari lugged the two dozen fish she caught to camp. She had to remember that place was a good fishing pond if she ever came this far again. She didn't want to approach the cursed clearing but had no choice. She watched her mother build two small shelters and a fire. They cooked fish over the fire that night. Little words were spoken.

"How did you get your peg leg?" asked Kari. She had no fear of asking. Most of the time if you ask someone they tell you very interesting tales of their journeys. She liked learning from people. She really hoped one day she'd have her own journey to tell of, but not about losing a limb though.

"A Timberjack," said Ingrid.

"That answers what but not how?" asked Kari.

"You are very curious, that's going to get you into trouble. If you must know I was trying to protect you from being eaten. Someone else managed to get you away into a safer hiding place while I fought the Timberjack. I killed the beast but its fire blew off my leg," said Ingrid.

"But are all dragons that dangerous? I know they attack the village. But are all of them so dangerous they'd kill you?" asked Kari.

"I don't think all of them are but it is best to keep that to yourself. That kind of talk gets you banished from the village," said Ingrid.

Kari knew being banished was a death sentence. With no support when a dragon attacks you are sitting duck, as good as dead. She swore to herself she would never speak of the truth of dragons.

That night Kari drew protective symbols in the dirt around her shelter. She offered it to her mother, but she refused. Kari curled up into a tiny ball in the back of her shelter covering herself up with a raccoon skin hide. She kept her daggers and axe nearby; it was the first rule of camping after all.

Kari had a restless sleep. She dreamt of a huge white dragon in the far away island. She could hear its roar and saw the other dragons hide in fear. Then images of fire and ice flashed before her eyes. There were quick images that made no sense. Then she saw a bloody beach. Bodies of men with an unfamiliar symbol on their shields and belts. Then she saw one body with the Berk symbol. She looked around the beach, the beach was on Berk. And the body she saw was….She shot up her breathing rapid and her whole body shaking. Sunlight was shining into the shelter. She grabbed her draggers and her axe and headed outside. The fire was thrown around the clearing. Her mother's shelter was destroyed. Her stomach fell. She knew that this land was cursed. It was all her fault.

Kari found footsteps in the dirt leading down a very steep cliff. She did what any Viking would have done. Followed it. However she was not so good with keeping her feet and slipped before she even started to climb down. She wanted to scream but nothing came out. WOOSH! Kari landed on the back of the dragon that she had met yesterday. It turned its neck around and grinned at her. She hugged the dragon. It purred. She couldn't believe the view. It was beautiful. The dragon followed the tracks. Suddenly it dove and Kari held on for dear life. Kari moved forward. The dragon tried to grab Kari's shirt to pull her back but Kari slipped away from grasp. She crouched down in the shrubs. It was the beach. Blood spilt all over the white sand. Ingrid was facing off with the only man that was still standing. She was covered in blood. So much blood. Kari had never seen so much of it. It was everywhere. She was scared and mortified by the carnage her mother had left in her wake. She had never seen a human manslayer like this. She had seen dead people, human blood and animal blood but never in such a large amount. She happened to look up at the wrong moment as her mother swung her axe and decapitated the man. Kari knelt in the flora shaking. She had just witness what being a Viking really was and at a much younger age than most children on Berk. Ingrid fell back onto a large rock. Kari was scared and mortified but that was still her mother. She hoped the dream was wrong. She walked shakily across the beach. She didn't look away nor did she turn back. This was the Viking life. This is part of the journeys that no one talked about. This is something she knew nothing about and wanted to know. She was an Eld, giving up and cowering away was not in her vocabulary.

"Momma," said Kari her voice timid and unsteady.

Ingrid said nothing. There was nothing to say. No words would change what was on the beach. She could not take away the memory. As much as she taught Kari survival wise she was hoping she would not have to teach her about the carnage of battle until she was twelve or thirteen not six.

"We must protect Berk. Sometimes the cost is part of yourself. Killing is wrong when it comes to revenge or just to kill for killing's sake, but we have to kill to protect each other and our homes. This is the Viking way," said Ingrid gasping for breath. She clutched her stomach. She was oozing blood. Kari was horrified. She was still shaking in her boots.

"Look at me, look at me. Ase look at me," said Ingrid trying to get her daughter to stop focusing on the blood. Very few people knew that Kari was named Kari Ase, most just assumed it was just Kari. Stoic left it out of the naming ceremony, it was uncommon to have two names. They couldn't decide on a name so that is what they ended up doing. Only Ingrid, Asmund and Stoic used it. If Stoic used it Kari went running.

Kari looked into Ingrid's eyes. They were still icy blue but the harshness was gone. Desperation, fear and most of all love was in her eyes. Ingrid knew she was going to die. She knew her daughter would witness her death. She could not prevent it but she had to at least try to make things better.

"I know I haven't said it enough, but I love you. I know I'm not the best mother but I was only trying to protect you from the village finding out about the gifts you have. However, the only way I knew was the Viking way. The Viking way sucks sometimes but I did what I had to do. You don't understand now but you will. You are a very special little girl and no one can change that. You won't have to hide who you are forever but for your sake hold it in until the right time. You'll just know," said Ingrid.

"Momma, I love you," said Kari tears streamed down her cheeks. She was so confused, so scared. She wasn't just a Viking. She was also still a little girl. She was a little girl that was watching her mother die.

"I know you do," said Ingrid, turning to look up, "such a beautiful sky it is. Berk has such beautiful skies. Berk is such a beautiful island. Remember you have to protect it so it stays this beautiful. I'll always be part of you."

Ingrid slid down the rock to the sand. Kari fell to her knees unable to support herself. She clung to her mother and sobbed. She couldn't stop sobbing. She knew her mother was coming back. She sat there for hours crying. She couldn't leave her mom. She wanted for the gods to bring her mother back. But this was the will of the gods. This is how it was meant to be. But a six-year-old didn't care about the will of the gods. They just want their loved ones back.

The dragon was hovering above. It was smart enough not to leave tracks. If a dragon knew one thing it was not to leave any trace of it near dead humans. It looked at Kari and nudged her. She turned to yell at the dragon but then saw another ship coming is the distance. She knew what she had to do. She had to protect Berk. She was about to jump onto the dragon when she heard a cry. A child's cry. It was coming from the ship. The logical thing would to be just to run. But after all Kari was still a Viking and logic didn't always agree a Viking. The dragon landed on the boat and helped Kari open the hatch to the hold. She found a little girl in a dress around her age staring back up at her. She had nearly white blond hair and bright blue eyes. Kari offered a hand. The little took it. She back away nearly falling back into the hold of the ship when she saw the dragon. Kari took the little girl's hand, despite her pulling away, and touched it with the part of the dragon between the eyes. Kari put a finger to her lips to symbolize don't tell. The little girl understood that. The dragon laid down so the two children could get on then took off to the clearing where Kari grabbed everything they had brought and destroyed the camp. Then the dragon flew low to the ground gliding through the trees like it owned the forest. It didn't get too close to village. Kari took off towards the village. The little girl ran after Kari not wanting to be alone with the dragon.

Kari was racing towards her house. She didn't have time to stop before she crashed into Stoic and Spitelout. The little girl behind her was quicker to react and darted under a cart. Kari fell back onto butt. She was still petrified just staring at the two men.

"Where are you going so fast?" asked Spitelout patting Kari's hand. Kari swatted it away and glared. She hated it when he did that. She didn't like being touched. Spitelout only rolled his eyes. Any other child he would have yelled at but honestly he knew soon as he rose his voice Asmund was appear out of nowhere. If you weren't afraid of Asmund you were a fool.

"Aren't you supposed to be camping with your mother?" said Stoic, more gently.

Kari opened her mouth to speak but nothing was coming out. She couldn't get the words out. She couldn't stop the panic and terror from twisting her inside around. She was too terrified and mortified to speak. Then she just started to weep. Stoic and Spitelout looked at each other. They didn't know what to do.

"Don't look at me," said Spitelout holding up his hands.

The two men just stood there until Gothi showed up. Gothi was able to calm Kari down enough to speak. The other little girl refused to come out even kicking Spitelout in the shin when he tried to get her out.

"Big ship. Beach. Little girl in hold of big ship. Another big ship coming. Ran here," said Kari getting her point across with little words. Stoic looked under the cart. The little girl didn't look like pirate. He had heard rumors of a rogue Viking clan killing entire islands taking children and women as slaves. He was assuming this is the group arriving on the island.

"Beach is near burnt clearing. Don't walk on clearing, cursed. Lots of blood on beach," said Kari.

"Where's Ingrid?" asked Spitelout. He knew Ingrid wouldn't let Kari run without anyone with her in the forest. Ingrid wasn't that crazy yet. There are plenty of dragons around that would love human child snack.

Kari didn't answer. Stoic didn't need an answer. He knew Ingrid would die for Berk. He had to gather the Vikings to fight. They had to defend Berk. Stoic patted Kari's head much to her annoyance but she didn't glare at him. Stoic turned to his Second-in-Command.

"You find Asmund and join us. We have an island to defend," said Stoick heading off to find Gobber.

Spitelout stared at Kari, the cart the new little girl was under and Gothi. What was he supposed to do? He was so used to handling Snotlout. Little boys were easier than girls. Little boys didn't cry when they got upset. He looked around the village.

"Don't just stand there. Get my dad," said Kari. Spitelout turned his head. He couldn't believe that just came out of the mouth of a little kid. He could have sworn he had just heard Ingrid not a little kid. He was so taken aback he didn't see Asmund coming up the hill from the docks.

Kari ran to her father and latched onto Asmund's legs. She buried her head in him trying to get rid of the images burned into her memory. She wanted to forget all the blood, the decapitated man, and her mother dying right before her eyes. It was all her fault too. She should have made her mother go to different camping site.

"Shouldn't you be with your mother?" asked Asmund. Kari wouldn't let go of her father's leg or look up. He picked her up like she was a stick and held her. She clung to his neck. She was trying not to cry but she couldn't stop. She didn't like crying. Crying was for the weak.

"I don't have clue. Something about a big ship on a beach and she found a little girl on that ship then saw another ship coming and ran here. The little girl is hiding under the cart," said Spitelout.

Asmund sighed. Does no one understand little girls? They aren't that hard to deal with. He easily lifted the cart while holding Kari. He may not be a dragon hunter anymore but his fitness hadn't changed. The little girl looked at him with huge eyes.

"I'd say she's from an island from the east. I think Duntar," said Asmund. The little girl starred in fear.

"How do you know?" asked Spitelout.

"The style of clothing she is wearing," said Asmund, before adding, glaring at Spitelout, "Don't give me that look. I have a little girl, I've learned that stuff."

"I wasn't doing anything," replied Spitelout, looking offended.

"I'll take Kari and the new little girl to my house. Gothi can you come with me to check on the girl to make sure she is healthy," said Asmund. Gothi followed quietly.

It was late at night when Stoic returned and knocked on Asmund's door. Kari was sitting on the floor trying to braid the girl's hair. Kari looked up at Stoic but showed little interest. She already knew her mother was dead. The little girl looked scared in general.

"Asmund I'm sorry, we were too late. Took out an entire fleet. Kari told us where to go. There are footprints on the beach that look like her. It may be time to move your house up the hill more. We destroyed the invaders' two ships but if they ever return they may recognize either that little one or Kari. We don't know if there had been a third ship or not. We destroyed the one on the beach and the one coming in," said Stoic.

Asmund looked over at Kari and the other little girl. He stumbled back and sat down in chair. He put his head in his hands. The other little girl got up and hugged Asmund. He patted the girl's head. Kari climbed up into his lap.

"I think she's from Duntar, we might want to travel and see if any child is missing," said Asmund, speaking to his chief.

"We will but first we need a burial," said Stoic.

"Alright, a burial we will have," said Asmund.

Once the raft was made and Ingrid's body was floated out at sea near the docks. Ingrid was getting the full hero treatment. Asmund helped Kari figure out the bow and arrow. Kari fired the first flaming arrow. Asmund helped the new little girl, they had learned was named Bergljot, fire the bow that was way too large for her frail small body. Asmund was next then Stoic and the rest of the village followed suit.

Asmund looked over at Kari. He couldn't give up. The gods gave him a gift he had to protect. They also took something but what could he expect from the gods. He looked at Bergljot knowing when they traveled to Duntar that there would be no one there, the village would be destroyed. He knew there was no one left to care for Bergljot. Now Bergljot and Kari had something in common. That had been shown the life of the Viking way too young. He could only hope the youth would learn from the violent ways that had taken so much for them. He knew everything had just gotten harder but that is also the Viking way.

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

Thanks for taking the time to read. I hope this is better than the first chapter. Please leave a review so I can fix or improve on things with my writing. Shoutout to RedDragonforce 1 for beta-reading this chapter and the rest of the story, one more current chapter to be beta-read then it will be time chapter 4.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the How to Train a Dragon franchise

**Claimer:** I do own my own characters and other things you don't recognize. So please as before using.

**"How to Raise a Viking"**

**Chapter 3 "Warrior in Training"**

As Asmund feared Duntar had been purged of all human life. Bergljot had been the only survivor. This left Asmund with two little girls to raise. He would never marry again, he only had one love and she was gone. He would never have another child so he may as well take in Bergljot. Once he returned from the trip he decided to build a new house higher up in the village. These two girls were all he had. No dragon trophy got anywhere close to those girls. Most of the village came together to help Asmund build a new house. He didn't know what he'd do without the people of the clan. There was no place like Berk.

Two years passed by, and it didn't get easier for Asmund, but he just became stronger. He had taught Bergljot fishing with daggers as Ingrid had taught Kari. Kari learned to hunt and use axes, shields and swords. Asmund wanted to make sure Kari could always defend herself. Kari wasn't fond of hunting but she never argued.

Kari was often found running through the village with Ruffnut and Tuffnut. She could play rough with them and not get into trouble even when she hurt one of them. She even gave them a few scars over the years. Kari was strong for an eight-year-old girl and quick enough to get away when the twins fought back, though the mostly fought with each other. She didn't always like playing with them they fought a lot, smelt bad and they got boring to prank because they didn't understand. Kari didn't really socialize that much. She got annoyed easily by other children. She rather go in the forest and play with her pet dragon.

Hiccup followed Kari around like a puppy. She got so mad at him. Stoic and Asmund laughed about it. Kari was so much like her mother. They could remember Ingrid doing the same thing to them when they were young. Asmund was glad to see she had some of her mother in her. At least he had something of Ingrid to hang onto.

Kari was running through the forest. She jumped over logs and took sharp terms. Hiccup had a hard time keeping up. Kari wouldn't slow down at all. She was quick on her feet.

"Kari, wait," pleased Hiccup. Kari sighed, she was trying to beat her old record. She never got to beat her best scores when Hiccup was with her. He was so slow. She went farther and faster without him. But he was the chief son and he wasn't that bad. He just hadn't found his feet yet as a Viking.

Kari decided to climb a tree while she waited for Hiccup. She put one foot in the crook of the tree then pushed her back against the tree to free her foot. She inched herself up the tree until she was able to grab a branch. She swung herself over the branch and sat there waiting for Hiccup. She sat there hoping that her dragon would stay away. She thought it would. It wasn't the right time of day for it to be out.

The singing birds. She closed her eyes and listened to the nature. She could hear the faint distance of water crashing off a faraway cliff into a pond. This island was so beautiful. People rarely came out here. It was such as shame. She heard a crack of twig. She carefully inched onto her stomach and watched below. She watched as a doe and her fawn walked through the trees. Quite, gentle, timid creatures. Every creature or plant had a part into the peace that made Berk. It was amazing to see how it all came together. She hoped to one day to travel the whole island; to see every amazing site there was. But she knew that it was impossible to see everything. Nature was always changing. There would always be something new.

"Kari! Kari!" called Hiccup. The deer were spooked and ran away. Kari sighed. Why must be so loud. Why can't people just be quiet and watch nature. All people did was destroy it. They didn't know what they were destroying.

"You scared them away!" scolded Kari. She hopped down from the tree landing on her feet with her knees bent.

"Scared who away?" asked Hiccup.

"The deer," sighed Kari.

"I don't see any deer," said Hiccup.

"No duh, I just said you scared them away," complained Kari. She wanted to hit Hiccup in the side of a head with a rock. Maybe then he would have a head that was fully attached.

"Let's go to the pond. I need to collect a flower that grows there for Gothi," said Kari.

Hiccup followed Kari. He rarely was let into the woods. He wasn't supposed to be in them now. But he rather be with Kari than alone, and Kari would rather be in the forest then in the village.

They reached the bluest pond Hiccup had ever seen. The pond was a light blue and green and seemed to glow. This was one of Kari's favorite fishing spots. She never knew what she'd catch. She wasn't sure how the fish got in the pond but they did. She picked a small white flower and put into a pouch on the side of her belt next to her daggers.

Kari and Hiccup sat at the edge of the pond eating the smoked halibut she had packed for lunch. Kari took off her shoes and dipped into the water. It was the perfect temperature. Not cold nor hot. She put her pouch on the rock she was sitting on while she ate her fish. Once she finished eating her fish then pushed herself off the edge of the pond into the water. She splashed Hiccup, who barely had his own feet in the water. She laughed as Hiccup pouted. Kari drifted backyard on her back in the pond. It wasn't that deep or big, but Hiccup refused to get into the water. Kari sighed. She dunked herself into the water. She opened her eyes. The water looked like normal water, nothing special. She swam on her belly as close to the bottom of the ground as possible reaching out her hands to feel the soft mud on the bottom. Then she pushed with her hands and feet off the bottom and broke the surface of the water. Hiccup sighed with relief.

"Do you have to do that?" asked Hiccup.

"You're just jealous because you can't swim," teased Kari sticking out her tongue.

Hiccup frowned looking down at his fish. Kari frowned. She didn't mean to make Hiccup sad. She was just having fun. She didn't purposely try to hurt people's feelings.

"Maybe you should ask your dad to teach you," said Kari, in a gentle tone as a way of apology. She didn't know how she learned to swim. She had been swimming since she was toddler. She often fell into the ocean near the pond and people had to discover she was missing and fish her out of the water. She never drifted that far.

"He won't let me near the docks and I'm not even supposed to be here," pouted Hiccup.

Kari rolled her eyes "What's life without breaking rules and danger."

"A long one," said Hiccup.

"You can be so annoying," sighed Kari.

"We should head back. My father should be nearing the end of his patrol around the village," said Hiccup.

"Okay," said Kari picking up her pouch off of the rock. They headed towards the village.

Kari was wet and cold but she managed to get Hiccup back to his house at just the right time. Kari went into her home house to dry her clothes. Her father was still at the docks and Bergljot was somewhere in the village. Probably sharing random facts with Fishlegs. They were both outsiders of sorts. It seemed fit they'd get along. Kari dried her clothes over the fire then tracked her way to Gothi's house.

"Where are you going?" asked a little girl with braided frizzy blond hair wrapped at the end in a blue hair tie. Kari wanted to keep going and ignore her. She wanted to do her business without being bothered.

"I'm going to give something to Gothi if you must know," retorted Kari.

"Can I come?" asked the little girl.

"Why do you want to come?" asked Kari.

"Because you look lonely," said the girl.

"Well, I'm not. Thank you for the offer Astrid but why don't you go swing an axe or something," said Kari.

Astrid disappeared for a few minutes. Kari sighed with relief. She had a feeling that was too easy though. Then Astrid appeared next to her. Kari groaned. Why couldn't she go away? Kari said nothing.

Astrid followed Kari until they reached Gothi's house. Gothi opened the door for Kari but shut it behind Kari. Their lessons were private. Gothi had chosen who she wanted to pass down her knowledge to that was Kari, and Kari alone. It started after Ingrid's death. Gothi taught Kari her language and how to speak Dragonese fluently. Now they had moved onto runes, medicine, and magic. The flower was a special flower that was a last part of a ritual to read the future, to help you draw energy to do a proper rune reading.

Kari had learned Gothi's native language which had been forgotten. They spoke in that language or drew things in the dirt to communicate. It was the best way to keep things quiet. No one could know about the things they talked about.

Gothi crushed the flower and then burnt it in her hearth. The smell of the flower filled the room. It was an intense sweet smell. The air felt heavy to breath. The house filled with a mist. As the smoke cleared the room felt different. Gothi laid out the stones with the Norse writing carved in it. Gothi shuffled them around. Kari held out her hands. She pulled two stones. She opened her hands palm up. In her palm was the stone for sickness and the stone for deadly disease. Kari looked at Gothi. Gothi looked at Kari. That was not the runes they were hoping for.

Kari left that day with a heavy heart. She hoped the runes were wrong. She pushed open the door of her house. She could smell salmon being smoked over the fire. Bergljot was on the floor weaving a basket to carry fish. Asmund smiled at Kari when she arrived.

"Dinner is almost done," said Asmund.

"Great," smiled Kari. She tried to forget about the stones.

"How was your lesson with Gothi?' asked Asmund.

"The same as usual," said Kari.

"That's good," said Asmund.

"Did you know Hiccup doesn't know how to swim?" asked Kari as she gathered up the laundry and put it all in one pile.

"Can't say I'm not surprised," said Asmund.

"It's just crazy not being able to swim," said Kari shaking her head.

"If you get going you'll have that laundry done before supper," said Asmund.

Kari carried the laundry outside. She walked down to the well and grabbed two buckets of water. She dumped the buckets into a small wooden tub. She walked back to the well and grabbed two more buckets. She dumped the buckets into the tub. She went back a third time. She hated doing laundry. She tripped and dumped water all over herself. She kicked the bucket. She had to travel all the way back to the well and fill the buckets all over again. She couldn't keep a grip on the buckets and dropped them again. She kicked the buckets and yelled at them. She had to do the laundry so she had to go back again. She was shivering. She filled up the buckets again. She still couldn't grip the handles. She was about to drop it again when someone offer a hand to help. She was so tired and wet she didn't protest. She trudged up the hill with one single bucket. She dumped the bucket into the tub. The second bucket was tossed into the tub. Kari turned and faced Astrid.

"Why did you help me when I was so rude to you before?" asked Kari, confused. She was thankful but also confused. She wouldn't have offered help if the places were switched.

"You're a Viking," replied Astrid, as if the question and answer was simple.

"Thank you," mumbled Kari, grateful.

Kari tossed the pile of clothes into the tub. She added soap to the bucket. She scrubbed the clothes before finally hanging them up. She finally went inside soaked to the bone trembling from being cold. She changed her clothes and sat near the fire, eating her salmon.

Kari fell asleep next to the fire. Asmund picked her up carrying her to bed. He cover her with blanket and a deer hide. He kissed her forehead. He covered up Bergljot with her blanket and a raccoon hide. He wouldn't trade this for the world. He put out the fire and settled into his bed.

Asmund woke before the sun rose as usual. He cleaned his knife, lit up the hearth, and cooked eggs. Bergljot was the next awake. She ate and ran off to go and weave her basket with the other little girl's weaving. It was nearly two hours later then when Kari got up. Asmund liked to wait until both of the girls had left the house. Hiccup came and knocked on the door.

"Hiccup, come back buddy, she's still sleeping," said Asmund, answering the door. Hiccup sighed and walked away kicking pebble on the path.

Asmund tried to wake up Kari up but she wouldn't wake up. She groaned and rolled over once. He felt her forehead. It was burning hot. He knew he had to go to work. He soaked an old ripped shirt and dipped it into bucket of ice cold water. He put the towel on her forehead.

It was mid-afternoon when Hiccup came back. Hiccup slowly pushed open the door when no one answered. Kari had only moved to the fireplace. She coughed and shivered. She coughed continuously.

"Go away. I didn't answer for a reason," groaned Kari.

"Do you want me to get your dad?" asked Hiccup.

"No!" snapped Kari.

"Do want anything?' asked Hiccup.

"To be alone," said Kari.

"Okay, I'll come back tomorrow," frowned Hiccup. No one else talked to him. He had no one to play with. No one wanted to play with him. He supposed since he couldn't go play he may as well go to Gobber's shop.

Bergljot decided to stay at a friend's house, running down to the docks to ask her dad. Asmund didn't mind. He had been fixing ships that had returned from dragon hunting. He did some fishing before returning home. He used the new fish basket Bergljot had made for him. He opened the door with his foot and sat the basket down on the table. He saw Kari curled up into a ball on the floor. He picked her up and put her back into her bed. She was scorching hot. He dipped the ripped up shirt into the water again. He put it on her forehead and went to the table and cleaned the fish. He put them onto the fire. He washed his hands outside. He brought the laundry in. He put away the clothes. BANG! He found that Kari had fallen out of bed. Her temperature was still raising. He had no choice. He had to get Gothi. He traveled through the fog that had fell in to Gothi. Gothi came to the house only to draw to Asmund there was nothing to do, only that Kari couldn't fight it off herself. That didn't make Asmund happy at all. He kept the fire burning all night. He dipped the cloth in water whenever he woke up which was about twice every couple of hours.

Asmund had to work to do so he had to leave to do it. He left cooked food out in case Kari got up to eat it. He told Hiccup to stay away and asked Bergljot friend's parents to let her stay until Kari was better. No one minded helping out. He was scared to death of losing Kari but he didn't let it show. He worked himself to the bone to keep his mind away from Kari being sick. He returned that night to Kari sweating and not responding. He stayed up all night to tend to Kari. Then got up just as early as normal to work on ships.

The fever only got worse for five days from when she first got sick. Gothi was unable to do nothing besides burn strange spelling flowers in the house. Asmund stayed near the house during the two dragon attacks that happened. He put Kari in the small crawl space because he still had to protect Berk. It kept her safe. On the six day the fever broke.

"Daddy," croaked Kari her throat dry.

Asmund leapt to his feet. He knelt down to Kari's bed. He held her tiny hand in his. She looked so small and weak right now. The weight just blew off his shoulders.

"Water," said Kari.

Asmund gave Kari a small sip of water. He made her take small sips. He knew from experience drinking a large amount of water after being sick was a horrible idea. It would only make you feel worse. Kari was too exhausted from being sick to argue for more, but she was getting water.

By the seventh day Kari was back to eating again. She wasn't up to going out and running in the forest but she was moving. She finally got to making gloves and hats for the brutal winter. Asmund was back to working at his typical pace. Gothi stopped by and gave Kari a small sack with her own runes. So Kari spent time playing with those.

Hiccup came by to play. They stayed in the village. Kari had lost several pounds and looked rather sickly yet they still played dragon and slayer. Once that got boring they went and chased sheep though Kari tired quickly. Then they tried to make a miniature sailboat out of wood and metal in Gobber's workshop with Gobber helping them when he wasn't working on weapons. They went down the beach and sailed it on the ocean. Kari used a stick to pull the boat back when it got too far not wanting to go into the water knowing her father would yell at her not wanting her to get sick again.

Asmund got worried as Kari wasn't gaining the weight back she lost. She looked so frail. It wasn't good for any Viking. So Gothi made strange drinks for Kari. Kari hated them and protested taking them. Though she did gain the weight back and then some. She finally looked healthy again. Not only did she look better she was stronger. She was able to help Asmund on the docks now fixing ships and going mass fishing for the whole clan.

"Good job, Ase," said Asmund. Kari smiled at her father as she had fixed her first plank of a ship. She didn't mind climbing the mast to put up a new sail. She was small and light enough it made a lot of jobs easier for the dockhands. She was able to do the jobs that took small hands, getting into tight spots or climbing up high. But of Kari still met with Gothi but it took a back burner to other things.

Bergljot had no interest in the docks. She stayed in the village learning home skills and farming skills. She wasn't born an Eld, so Asmund couldn't blame her. But every birth born Eld had an attraction to the sea. It called their name.

Once a week Kari took fish she had cooked and took it into the forest. She'd walk to her favorite pond. She patiently waited. She enjoyed the early morning air. She listened to the birds starting to awake. Then she heard the sound of claws against the ground.

"Hello, Sigfrid," greeted Kari petting the dragon. She had learned the dragon she discovered as a little girl was a Stormcutter. It's an extremely rare species of dragon. Sigfrid had grown as well. She was even larger now and her wings had doubled in span. She really was a beautiful dragon and she wasn't an adult yet.

"I got halibut, your favorite," said Kari. Sigfrid licked her chops and grinned.

"Munch-Munch," said Kari tossing a fish into the air. Sigfrid caught it and purred.

"I'm glad you like it," said Kari.

Kari tossed a dozen fish to Sigfrid. Sigfrid licked Kari. Kari in return scratched behind Sigfrid's ear between the ear and neck. Sigfrid purred.

"I got to go work. I'll be back next week. We can spend more time next time. I'll try to get some salmon for a change," said Kari. Sigfrid gave Kari a sad look.

"I got to go. You be good and stay out of trouble," said Kari hugging Sigfrid. Sigfrid rested her head on Kari's shoulder.

"I'll be back in a few days," said Kari walking into the forest. She looked back in time to see Sigfrid take to the sky. One day she would be able ride Sigfrid freely without worrying what people would think or fear they would hurt Sigfrid. She just knew that one day it would happened. She couldn't wait for the day but for now this had to do.

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

Please review, I want to know what you guys think. I also I'm not an expert on Vikings but I do know a few facts like Vikings were the first to invite soap. I know random stuff like this. I'm basing my story off the movie more than the book. I really hope people enjoy reading it as much as I do writing it. Huge thanks to RedDragonforce 1 for beta-reading this story for me.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the How to Train a Dragon franchise

**Claimer: **I do own my own characters and other things you don't recognize. So please as before using.

"**How to Raise a Viking"**

**Chapter 4 "Hero Is Made,"**

Walking alone in the forest is not something someone does lightly. But Kari did it once a week to feed Sigfrid some fish. So traveling in a group, that seemed like nothing to the twelve-year-old. She often came into the forest with Hiccup, though she knew Stoic would be very angry if he found out. But she wasn't with Hiccup today. She was with Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Bergljot.

It's quite funny how Kari became friends with the twins. Of course, as a little kid she ran around the village terrorizing people. But Kari changed after she lost her mother. She didn't find it fun to prank people and tip yaks. So she stopped playing with them. It all started on the docks. Kari loved the sea as much as her father did. She'd live on shore if she could. She hated living so far away from the beach. So she spent as much time as she could when she wasn't doing chores or in the forest. The twins were notorious for messing with the ships. Kari happened to be there when the twins were messing with the ships. It was still dark out so Kari didn't know who it was. She pushed the twins into the water. They didn't know how to swim and flayed around wildly pushing each other under the water. Only then did Kari realize it was the twins. She jumped into the water. She grabs them by their jackets and pulled them. They were barely in two feet in water. After that Kari taught the twins to swim. She got them to actually care about the sea. She made them help her clean up the messes they'd leave after pranks. They started to respect it and pranks on the ships and the fishermen stopped much to Asmund's relief. Ever since then Kari would hang out with the twins when she had enough of Hiccup.

The fighting rarely ever stopped. Kari didn't even react unless she was concerned they were going to get themselves killed. Bergljot kept asking Kari if they should break them up. Kari only waved the thought away with her hand. She knew unless they had weapons they wouldn't harm each other much.

The goal was to go to beach on the other side of the island. It had been six years since the death of Ingrid. Kari wanted to visit the beach for her mother. She planned on making a shrine for Ingrid. She got the idea after visiting a neighboring island with her father a few months ago and seeing shrines people put at graves.

Kari pulled Tuffnut back before he walked onto the cursed clearing. She pulled him around it by the ear. She felt like she was always babysitting him. He never paid enough attention. She climbed down the grassy ledge down to the beach. She walked straight to the rock where her mother died at. She took her sack off her back and sat it down at the ground.

"So what are you doing?" asked Tuffnut.

"Shut up, idiot," said Ruffnut slapping the back of his head.

Tuffnut and Ruffnut broke into a slapping fight. They kept seeing who could hit harder. That was until Bergljot slapped them both in the back in the head.

"Well, Ruffnut and Tuffnut can you get a few twigs?" asked Kari.

"Sure," said Ruffnut.

"This way," said Tuffnut.

"No this way," said Ruffnut.

"No this way," said Tuffnut.

"No this way," said Ruffnut.

"Go that way!" snapped Bergljot.

The twins disappeared into the forest once again. Bergljot sat down in sand. This was a strange feeling for her on this day. She always felt lost. Pieces of her past always seemed to appear on this day. It could be a smell, a sound or even thing that triggers it.

Kari unfolded her cloth sack. She propped up a few lavender flowers. She put a hatchet in front of the flowers. She took out a bunch of herbs tied together with twine. She pulled out the flint and steel she brought along whenever she went into the forest. She lit the bunch of herbs on fire. She walked around the rock and beach. Bergljot looked like she was crazy.

"What are you doing?" asked Bergljot.

"Cleansing the beach of spirits," said Kari.

"Sure," said Bergljot drawing out the 'r' and the 'e'.

Kari started to chant in the forgotten language Gothi had taught her. Bergljot's head snapped towards Kari. She understood what was being said. She had a flash of a woman with black hair singing in it to her. She felt something stir inside. The feeling soon turned into hate. Kari threw the bunch of herbs into the sea. She went back into the rock and started to write on it with chalk.

Bergljot picked up the spare hatchet. Bergljot stalked behind Kari. Kari kept writing unaware of Bergljot. Bergljot swung the hatchet. Kari had ducked down to pick up a new piece of chalk. The hatchet sparked against the rock. Kari turned around in shock to see her sister standing above her with a hatchet. She rolled away in confusion. Bergljot swung again. Kari jumped out of the way. She stared at her sister in shock.

"What are you doing?" asked Kari. She was moving around with a dance of sort. She had seen it plenty of times when older kids had spared. She tried to mimic everything she had ever seen anyone do in a fight.

Bergljot didn't respond. She just stared Kari with a wild look. Her blue eyes darker than normal. Kari saw hatred staring back at her. This wasn't Bergljot. Not the Bergljot Kari knew. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't hurt her. This was her little sister.

"Stop this. Stop. It's me, Kari," said Kari dogging the hatchet. She didn't want to hurt her sister. But she was scared. Nothing was getting through to her.

Kari tried yelling at Bergljot to stop in the language, thinking of the possible connection. Bergljot yelled back profanities. Kari knew she was in trouble. She knew how sensitive Bergljot was to her past on this day as was Kari. She knew she had triggered something. She thought about how those men had killed her mother and how her mother had killed them. What if Bergljot wasn't kidnaped by pirates and they were her people? What if her people hated Kari's people? The hatchet skimmed her left shoulder. She yelped in pain. At that moment she realized she had to defend herself. She drew out one of her daggers. Something pulsed through Kari. The will to serve, the urge to protect herself took over. She was not going to run. She had a goal and she was to achieve it.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut were walking down the cliff. They saw the scene. The dropped the twigs and ran towards the sisters. Ruffnut pulled Kari back as Tuffnut tackled Bergljot. Bergljot had a bloody lip and bruised jaw. Kari had her bleeding left arm and swollen hand. Bergljot swung at Tuffnut. The hatchet barely missed Tuffnut's head. Bergljot broke free from him and ran into the forest like a madwoman.

"What just happened?" asked Ruffnut.

"I don't know, but we have to tell Gothi what happened," said Kari. She looked darkly at the twins. She knew the danger that she had released. They had to get the village.

The trio ran through the forest. They stormed up the path to Gothi's house. Their breathing heavy from the change in the atmosphere. They burst through Gothi's door and landed in her living room.

Gothi saw the wound on Kari's arm. She treated and wrapped the wound. She looked at the terrified and shocked children. She knew something had happened.

"I was making a shrine for my mother. I was doing a cleansing of the beach like you taught me. I was making the writing on the rock when Bergljot came out of nowhere and tried to kill me. She grazed me. The twins tried to break us up. She nearly killed Tuffnut," said Kari in Gothi's language.

Gothi explained why this happened in a drawing. She explained that she had thought that possibly all those years ago that Bergljot came from the only island that still spoke her language, the island she had been born. Her family had left the island when her father broke the law and saved a prisoner of war. He would have been executed. She explained the language triggered Bergljot's nature she had been taught. All they could do is hope that she'd snap out of it.

Kari didn't want to think about how she was going to explain this to her father. He wouldn't understand her making a shrine. He didn't understand those islanders doing it. She would have to explain the wound on her arm. The twins had no idea what was being said.

Kari and the twins walked down to the village. No one said anything. Ruffnut and Tuffnut suspected it was bad. They were confused. Kari and Bergljot never fought let alone nearly killed each other.

"What is going on?" asked Tuffnut.

"Bergljot was triggered to the ways of her real people. They must hate Berk for some reason. We can only hope she snaps out of it" said Kari.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut just looked at each other not understanding what was going on. They didn't even understand what they were doing at the beach. Kari noticed their confusion and facepalmed. They were of no use.

"We'll talk tomorrow. I'm going to go find Stoic and tell him what happened so he can find Bergljot before she gets hurt," sighed Kari.

"More likely before she hurts someone," said Tuffnut obviously sore from nearly being killed.

Kari didn't respond just heading towards the Great Hall. She looked around the Great Hall with now avail. She walked around the village looking for Stoic. She found him dealing with Silent Sven who was shaking his fists wildly complaining about his sheep being chased by the kids, which was most likely the twins. She waited until Stoic was walking away after calming down Sven. Kari ran to catch to him down on the path.

"Stoic, Stoic, I need to talk to you!" called Kari running to catch up. Her legs were so tired.

"What?" snarled Stoic.

Kari shot him a glare. She didn't ask to have this happen. She didn't like being talked to like that. Some would say it was brave to glare at the chief. She was like a daughter to him nearly. She was nearly always with Hiccup.

"Which one of the twins did that?" asked Stoic. He assumed everything was the twins.

"Neither," replied Kari.

"I'm guessing you are wanting to talk about that?" asked Stoic.

"Yes and no," said Kari.

"Kid, I don't want to play the guessing game," sighed Stoic.

"Where is Bergljot from?" asked Kari.

"We don't know for sure. Why?" asked Stoic.

"Well, I was down at the beach," said Kari.

"What are you doing over there? You shouldn't be in the forest alone. You shouldn't be in the forest at all actually," said Stoic "do you know how many wild dragons are in there?"

"I wasn't alone. And can we go over the lecture later. I just wanted to visit. It's been six years since... you know. I was doing something Gothi recommended I do to please the spirits or whatever. Then Bergljot nearly tried to kill me with a hatchet. She did this. Nearly killed Tuffnut, though I'm not sure you don't want to do that yourself. But anyways we went to Gothi, who fixed that up, she seems to think she came from and island that hates us here," said Kari.

"I can't say it isn't impossible. We don't know where she was. No one has ever seen those ships before. We assumed it was a rogue clan gone pirate," said Stoic.

"Well, she's kind of still running around the forest with a hatchet like a madwoman. She ran away after she attacked Tuffnut. I honestly didn't want to be beheaded," admitted Kari rubbing her neck.

"Great. Don't go back into the forest," said Stoic walking down the path once again.

"I repeat don't go into the forest," said Stoic. Kari rolled her eyes.

"Say it," said Stoic turning around a third time.

"I promise not to go into the forest," said Kari. She crossed her fingers behind her back.

Stoic walked away. Kari sighed. She guessed she'd go find Hiccup now and hope he wasn't too mad at her for ditching him. She wouldn't try to get back into the forest today. She wasn't that brave. She also didn't want to break a promise. It was bad luck. However, Hiccup was in Gobber's shop. She refused to go down the docks to explain her wound to her father. She had already gone to Gothi's. The twins were most likely wounding each other somewhere. This left Kari with no one. So she sat outside her house throwing pebbles staring off into space.

Left alone to reflect Kari knew she had screwed up big time. She felt like she had failed her mother. She hesitated to attack. She was weak for going to the beach today. This was all her fault. Bergljot would have never remembered if she had started speaking that language. She had failed her family. Her dad would never forgive her. She was so angry with herself. She felt like Bergljot had snapped her in the chest, it hurt so bad to be betrayed. She was no hero. She was no Viking. She only brought despair. She curled her legs to her chest. She put her head to her knees. She couldn't help the tears falling. She would never be as good as her mother. She knew she could never kill Sigfrid. She'd die before she'd do that. She wasn't a Viking, she was a coward.

"What are you doing?" asked a young boy's voice.

Kari tensed up. She wanted to be left alone. She couldn't stay in that house. She hated being stuffed inside. She couldn't breathe. She knew someone was bound to notice. She still wanted to be left alone. But that was impossible in the village. No matter if she was in house or out here.

"Go away," said Kari.

"My dad says that young girls shouldn't cry," said the boy.

"I don't give a damn what you father says," snapped Kari.

"Jeeze Thor, no need to get angry," said the boy.

"Leave me alone Snotlout," warned Kari.

"Fine, I'll go," said Snotlout.

The anger boiled inside. Kari didn't even know who she was angry with. She wasn't really mad at the boy. She wasn't mad at Bergljot. She was angry with herself. She was supposed to be a Viking, a big sister, and a future dragon slayers. It appears she couldn't do even one of those. Vikings don't cry. Big sisters don't abandoned their little sisters in a forest even when they have completely lost their minds. Dragon slayers don't pick and choose the dragons they kill.

"If you want to be left alone why don't you go inside," said Snotlout.

"Get away before my fists met your face!" snarled Kari getting up and giving a start with her foot. Snotlout ran away, he wasn't stupid enough to push her buttons. She really hated that boy. He was so annoying. He was mean to Hiccup. He was always bugging her. He didn't get that she didn't like him.

Tears fell harder. She ran inside refusing to fully cry outside. She ran inside and fell onto her bed. The tears fell like a waterfall. She couldn't stop. All the pain she felt as a little kid came back. She felt like the wound of losing her mother was being ripped open again and a new wound had been made. She official hated this day forever. This was the worst day of the year.

Darkness crept in. Kari didn't leave. Her father hadn't come home. She knew that Stoic had gotten hold of him. She started to kick things around the house. She threw things around. She sat alone in a dark house. She lit the hearth. She cooked a halibut over the fire. Kari cooked salmon for her father. She brought in wood from outside.

It was pitch dark outside. Kari looked out waiting for her father. She was getting nervous. What if something happened in the forest? She laid in her bed staring up at ceiling. There was no way she was going to sleep. She settled for sharpening her daggers. She heard crackling outside. She sat down the rock she had been using to sharpen her daggers. She went outside and looked around. She happened to look up and seen a Deadly Nadder on the roof. She was not letting a dragon destroy her house.

"Dragons!" yelled Kari on the top of her lungs. She felt around her belt. She didn't have her axe. She looked at her dagger. This was a problem. A Deadly Nadder was named deadly for a reason. She dove to the ground to avoid the spikes. She ran around avoiding spikes trying to remember what her father said about Deadly Nadder. The warning bell rang in the distance.

She slipped and fell. She dragon leapt down from the roof. The dragon was hovering above her. She found herself placed in its vision's blind spot. She had only a few seconds before it smelt her. She stabbed the dragon in the throat. It stumbled away gaging. She felt horrible for the dragon. It was a horrible way to die, even for a dragon that tried to kill her. She threw her second dagger into the dragon's chest. Her father had told her that's the quickest way to kill almost any dragon. She did feel bad for the dragon but she was only defending her home. She stumbled back and fell onto her butt I bit shocked by what she had done. She had never thought she could kill a dragon.

Kari helped throw water buckets on nearby houses running away from her first kill. She tried to forget all about it. She felt like she had done something horribly wrong. She felt dirty for killing a dragon. But yet she saw a house on fire and people with peg limps. Dragons left as usual. She went back to the dragon she killed and pulled out her daggers from the dragon. She dropped them in disgust as the oozed dragon blood.

"That is so disgusting," said Kari making a face.

"That is," said Ruffnut.

"Totally awesome," finished Tuffnut.

Kari groaned. There would be no keeping this a secret now that the twins knew. Everyone was going to make a big deal out of this. She would never be left alone again. She just had hoped to put it off and not claim the kill. She didn't see what was so awesome about it. She had been terrified and had no clue what she was doing. She just got lucky.

The twins ran off before Kari could make them swear not to tell. She looked at the dragon sadly. She couldn't believe she took a dragon's life. Would Sigfrid know what she did? Would Sigfrid ever come near her now that she was a dragon killer? She wondered if dragons had families and if she had just killed some baby dragon's mother or father. It wasn't a good feeling. She was nauseated at just the mere thought of what she had done.

Of course the twins brought most of the village with them. A lot of people that had never even looked at Kari before was congratulating her now. She looked over the Gothi with a desperate and lost look. Gothi nodded towards the dragon. Kari knew Gothi was right. This was going to happen eventually. She couldn't be the child of two of the greatest dragon slayers in Berk's history and not kill a dragon.

Stoic and Asmund returned with a few other adult males. There was no Bergljot but there were also no injuries. Kari felt panic rise in her throat but then came relief when Asmund finally broke up the crowd.

"What in Odin's name is going on here?" asked Stoic.

"Kari killed a dragon," said Astrid. Astrid and Kari weren't really friends but they weren't exactly not friends. They rarely talked but that didn't mean much. Kari preferred to stay with Hiccup and the twins. Odd mix but that's how Kari liked it. Astrid also hung out with the twins but she had other friends too.

"Is that true Kari?" asked Stoic. He was surprised and concerned at the same time. His face showed some sort of defeat but also pride. It was confusing to Kari. She didn't know what her chief was feeling.

"I really wasn't trying to kill it. It just happened," admitted Kari. She had not sought out tonight to kill a dragon. Though she supposed she had sort of challenged it. She was so confused.

"Well, I think a title is in order," said Stoic.

All Kari could think was, _oh gods please don't give me a stupid name_. She was going to have to live with this stupid name possible her entire name. She didn't want some stupid name like kinder, kind, or klutz. That would be horrible. Kari the Klutz. She shuddered at the mere thought.

"I think 'Kari the Keen' is suffice. A Deadly Nadder taken down in two at stab wounds. Must be a new record. Not to mention the dragon was dead within minutes with those wounds where they are," chuckled Stoic patting Kari on the back. She nearly fell over from the impact.

No one protested the title. It was better than some so Kari had nothing to complain about. Being congratulated on killing was weird. Hiccup looked over at her with astonishment but also with a hint of jealousy. She sighed, she'd have to talk to him later. The twins were now pulling each other's hair again. Astrid looked impressed and Snotlout looked jealous.

Asmund collected the spikes from the dragon's tail carefully to use as weapons. He stocked them away for emergencies. Like if there are ever intruders on island or they have a Monstrous Nightmare outside their front door. They also made a good trade with Trader Johann.

Everyone went their own ways after dragging the dragon away. Kari was glad to see it gone. She had enough excitement in one way to last her a lifetime. She huffed and flopped down onto her bed. Then she remembered Bergljot and sat up. Asmund placed the needles into a bin.

"I'm sorry I took Bergljot there. I wasn't thinking. I just wanted to do something Gothi recommended," said Kari rapidly.

"Stoic explained. It is not your fault. One day Bergljot was going to realize who she is. She was going to resent us either way," said Asmund.

"Where is she?" asked Kari.

"You, the twins and Bergljot weren't the only ones with the idea to visit. The intruders showed up. Stoic tried his best to smooth things over. They weren't very willing to have peace. Once Bergljot showed up and seemed slightly normal murmurs grew across the foreigners. Some man who claimed to be her father came up and hugged her. Bergljot said she wanted to be with her people. Apparently, her father was the chief. And that Bergljot had been taken by pirates but the people that were killed on the beach were returning Bergljot after searching a very long time for her. The chief was much more willing for peace. Stoic and him shook hands and they left in peace," said Asmund summing up a very complicated and tense ordeal. He was sad but he knew it would happen one day. He did however wonder what happened to Duntar if she wasn't from there. Something told him, he didn't want to know.

Kari didn't say anything. Her mouth opened but nothing came out so she closed it. What could she say? She was hurt but also happy at the same time. She was hurt that Bergljot had left and nearly killed her. But she was happy Bergljot had a family and was with them. It seemed like the chief was more reasonable than what Gothi made them seem. Maybe things had changed. Berk changed every day. So did whatever island they came from.

"I'm going to teach you about dragons. Now that you killed your first dragon you better learn to defend yourself. I'll get Stoic to have Gobber train you too. You need to be prepared for anything," said Asmund. He was proud but also worried. He couldn't protect her anymore. She could protect herself. That was even scarier than a Monstrous Nightmare to him.

"Okay," yawned Kari.

"I don't need to teach you survival since your mother did that and clearly you do just fine in the forest," said Asmund. Kari was too tired to really hear her father.

"I'll have to get you a proper shield, axe and armor," said Asmund. Kari was starting to douse off.

"Plenty to do tomorrow," said Asmund. Kari flopped over falling asleep.

"Sleep child. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day," finished Asmund. He easily picked up his daughter and covered her up. He went outside and collected her daggers. He walked down to the well and filled a cauldron of water. He came back put the cauldron on the hearth. He let the water boil then put the daggers inside to clean them. He ate the semi-warm salmon that Kari had left for him. He pulled the daggers out, completely obvious to the scalding hot water on his skin. He had gotten burned so many times he had lost the ability to feel temperature in his hands. He had never lost a limb, only got singed enough times. He looked at the empty bed. A few tears rolled down his cheeks. He had raised Bergljot only to have her choose people she barely knew over him. Of course, it hurt. He never told Kari it didn't. He looked over to make sure she didn't see him cry. A Viking never cries.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

I really hope that everyone enjoyed this chapter. Please review, they are cookies for the writer's soul. Sorry it took so long. I re-wrote it twice until it fit right. There is one more chapter in this story. Then we start the story that occurs during the first movie. Moving right along here. And everyone say thanks to my beta reader RedDragonforce 1, whom is revising all the chapters for me and spreading word of the story.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the How to Train a Dragon franchise

**Claimer: **I do own my own characters and other things you don't recognize. So please as before using.

"**How to Raise a Viking"**

**Chapter 5 "Family Expectations,"**

Angry waves crashing into a longboat. The sky dark as night. Everyone was rowing. It was taking twice as much effort as normal to row. The only thing keeping them going was the promise of dry land soon. No one should be on water. Any sea lover or sailor could see that. But there was nothing that would stop a stubborn Viking chief. Shortly behind the longboat was another. Both crews had one common desire and one common destination. They were Hairy Hooligans.

The last thing Kari had expected was to get caught in a storm like this. She struggled just as much as everyone else rowing. Thankfully she was rowing her father because she would feel awful not keeping her weight otherwise. Not that she wasn't trying or that her father was faring any better. It was a battle against the sea, a losing battle at that.

"Shore," cried Stoick.

The longboats soared forward, their speed incassing. The mere thought of any land was enough to give them enough strength and will to row faster. Let alone the thought of being home. Everyone was exhausted. Another failed attempt to find the dragon nest, not that was anyone was too disappointed. A few had gotten a couple dragon kills at least and no one had died this time.

The longboats drifted into the docks. Kari had to jump onto the very wet pier to tie the boats in before they were crashed onto the beach or pulled back out. It was no easy task running on wet wood. She managed to tie the boats before either of the two options happened. She felt like falling over and passing out on the pier but with such wild waves that would not be a good idea.

Kari helped her father unload the ships and make sure they were completely secure. Then they made the long hike to their house. They collapsed on their beds. Two months of searching for a nest with no luck. Exhaustion wasn't the word for what they felt. This was Kari's first time searching for the nest. It was exhausting to say the least and now Stoic will be in a bad mood while they prepared for the Big Freeze.

"Wake up you two! We need the dock prepared and more fish!" bellowed Stoic pounding on the front door.

Kari flopped out of bed. Her hair looking like a birds nest. She wasn't ready for this. She looked around groggily. She groaned. She hated this time of year. Ever since she killed that Deadly Nadder she was treated like an adult. Most fourteen-year-olds would be thrilled with that. But she hated all the reasonability.

"Dad, Stoic's calling," groaned Kari. She hated the Deep Freeze more the last two years. She actual has to help with it now. She doesn't like taking orders. It drove her up the wall but Stoic was the chief. And it was her family's job to be the chief's right-hand man or right-hand woman.

"Stoick it's not going to snow tonight!" grumbled Asmund.

"Excuse me?" said Stoick.

"You heard me. Go bother Spitelout and whatever awful name his son has. He didn't go on the nest hunt. We will get down there when we are good in ready. You are going to kill us if you don't stop pushing," said Asmund opening the door open. He looked like he had stuck his head into a badger's hole. Stoick was taken aback by Asmund's appearance. Stoic seen Kari walk into a pole five times before walking round it.

"Fine, but I want it done!" said Stoick raising his fist to the air.

"Goodbye, Stoic," said Asmund closing the door.

Stoic stood there stunned. Asmund had never done that to him. He wondered if he did push the duo too hard. He really hadn't thought about it. Asmund never complained and for him to complain... Well, Stoic knew that he was doing something wrong. He just wasn't sure if it was really anything to do with pushing them too hard.

Kari ate and tried to make her hair better. She would just be on the docks anyway so there was no point in showering or really trying to look nice. She forced herself to go down to the docks. She used to love the docks. Now she hated them. It was more a chore then about enjoyment of the sea. She hated when she had to go down to the docks anymore.

Kari lugged up containers fish up to the storage. She didn't complain but she was so miserable. She had killed two other dragons since the Deadly Nadder. It didn't get easier. She felt like she was betraying herself. She wasn't even sure who she was anymore. Was she a dragon slayer or a dragon friend? She would never hurt Sigfrid. She'd die protecting Sigfrid before she let anything happen to her.

Pulling longboats into a covered shelters was even more daunting. Running trying to keep ahead of the boats was nearly impossible and dangerous. One misstep and you could be crushed by a boat. Not a way Kari felt like she wanted to die from. She wasn't really husky enough for a job like this but her father didn't have a son to do it instead of her.

She was falling behind of a boat. It was going to crash into three other boats. The rope slipped out of her hands. She jumped into the water to catch it. She barely grasped the rope and pulled it toward her. Now she had the longboat nearly on top of her. Out swimming a longboat sounds easy but in cold water and being past exhaustion made it difficult. Right before she got crushed between docks and boat it halted. She sighed.

"You are going to get sick staying in the water like that," said a voice.

"Does it look like I really want to be in the water," snapped Kari. Kari barely was able to pull herself out of the water. She was so sick of water. She was glad the Big Freeze was coming and she didn't have to see the docks for a few months.

"Why are you doing this?" asked the voice. Kari turned to see it Spitelout. She wasn't a huge fan of Spitelout. He was worse than her father, always acting if she was breakable.

"I got those three in didn't I," responded Kari.

"Stubborn just like your mother," said Spitelout, shaking his head a bit.

Kari got up to her feet. Fire gleamed in her deep green eyes. She was so sick of hearing she was just like her mother. No one gets she doesn't want to hear about her mother. Mother was dead why can't people leave her that way inside of bringing her back to life with constantly mentions of her.

"I am nothing like her. You don't know me," said Kari her voice dropping in pitch. She got up in Spitelout's face. She showed no fear. She was so tired of being bossed around by the men on the docks or in the village in general. She was no one's personal servant.

Kari walked away from the shelter, from the docks, from the ocean. She wanted to walk away from it all but it wasn't that easy. She went home and got her fishing basket, rod and bait. She took off into the forest. She walked away from the world of men she couldn't escape for a while. Everyone was equal in the wilderness. Mother Nature doesn't decide on gender who will live or die.

"Why are there still boats in the docks?" asked Stoic to Asmund as he was stacking the baskets of fish.

"Kari should have had them in there by now. Go ask her," said Asmund.

"I would if she was anywhere to be found," said Stoic.

Asmund sighed. He could tell his daughter was miserable on the docks. The sea wasn't her calling. She loved to sea, there was no doubt in that, but making a living of it was a totally different thing. He could see that yearning for something more during the dragon hunt. There was no meaning for her in the sea or dragon slaying. He hated to force her to be two things she wasn't. He knew she was not a dragon slayer nor was she a dockhand.

"If you gave her a job she should be doing it," said Stoic.

"Maybe she should do it but has it ever occurred to you that she can't," said Asmund.

"She has gotten four ships into the shelter perfectly fine," said Stoic.

"That's not what I meant. She isn't a born dockhand. She's miserable. She just can't make a living out of the sea. You're forcing her to be something she's not. She only does it because she doesn't have courage to stand up to you. But don't say I didn't warn you when she does," said Asmund.

"She's a kid. I give an order and she does it," said Stoic.

"Keeping pushing and she's going to push back. Hold back who you are too long and you explode. Trust me she's nearly ready to blow," said Asmund "she's still a kid, Stoick, not an adult. You say she's a kid but you treat her like an adult."

Stoic wasn't hearing Asmund. Asmund sighed. He knew his daughter better than anyone. She was going to blow and it wouldn't be pretty. Because fourteen years of anger and frustration would come out. He only wished he could tell her what he felt. He had seen a dragon save her life many years ago. He still remembered like it was yesterday.

_It first thaw had just warmed up Berk when Kari was about two-years-old. Ingrid had taken her into the forest. Ingrid often went into the forest to hide away from the village. She was so happy and calm in the forest. Then she'd come back and become a warrior. It tore Ingrid apart._

_That day Asmund had joined them. Eating a basket of fish, bread and carrots in the forest. It was a good way to find yourself again. That day had been such a happy day. They were able to be themselves and talk about whatever they want without a fear. The fact was Asmund and Ingrid hated killing dragons and fighting wars. But that is what they were expected to do. That was their role in the village._

_Asmund and Ingrid were simply enjoying nature they weren't watching Kari carefully. Kari was waddling around chasing a blue butterfly. She was dangerous close to the ledge of a cliff. By the time Asmund looked over Kari was toddling over the ledge. He jumped up to his feet. But Kari disappeared with a flash of her red hair. Ingrid screamed. Asmund ran to the ledge. He fell back when a giant dragon came soaring up. It landed on the opening away from the edge. Being held by her shirt was Kari. Kari was giggling and waving her limbs around. No one moved afraid the dragon would kill Kari. A Monstrous Nightmare was nothing to mess with let alone with your child in its mouth. The dragon sat Kari down._

"_Mama, mama," said Kari wadding over to mother with open arms. Ingrid picked her up and held her tight._

_Asmund walked over to his wife and daughter. There was a mace in hands reach. He looked at the dragon. It didn't fly away. Asmund could kill it. He looked into the dragon's eyes. He saw his own soul looking back at him. The desire to protect his family and to be his own person. He didn't go for the mace. Ingrid got an idea. She let Kari down. Kari waddled back to the dragon. Asmund looked at Ingrid like she was crazy. Ingrid gave him that look that told she knew what she was doing._

"_Drago," giggled Kari. The Monstrous Nightmare snorted at Kari. She fell back and giggled._

"_Silly drago," giggled Kari. The Monstrous Nightmare sniffed Kari. She giggles loudly. Its back. Kari gets up and hugs the dragon's snout. It looked at Kari, unsure of what to do with the human child. Kari lefts go. The dragon guides Kari back with its snout to Ingrid. Ingrid picks up Kari once again. Kari plays with her mother's reddish brown hair._

Asmund knew there was something different about Kari. That dragon could have killed her, in theory should have but it didn't. Even the dragon sensed something different about Kari. She wasn't a killer. She wasn't violent nor competitive. She wasn't the average Viking. She was her parents, they had hidden it if for so long forgot who they were. He knew how he kept his sanity, the sea. He knew how Ingrid kept her sanity, the forest. But how does Kari?

Right as Asmund was closing up the storage barn. Spitelout walks up. Were the two men close? Not really, but there was a mutual respect. Asmund couldn't relate to Spitelout. Spitelout had been gifted with two sons and a wife; even though Spitelout had lost his eldest to a disease when the boy was just a baby. Asmund understand the pain of losing a child but back then he didn't. Spitelout doesn't understand the pain of losing the love of his life. But once upon a time they saw each other as equals and worked well together.

"She's too small to be working with those boats alone," said Spitelout.

"It's not that she is small it is just doesn't have muscle mass to keep control of them," sighed Asmund.

"She nearly got crushed if I hadn't got hold of one of the ropes to haul the boat," said Spitelout.

"Is she okay?" asked Asmund.

"She was fine enough to get into my face, though she might be a little cold," said Spitelout, partly wanted to sneer, but also wanting to show concern.

"How many times do I need to tell you not to bring up Ingrid," said Asmund. He knew what pissed off his daughter most. He had learned that much on his own.

"How did you know?" asked Spitelout.

"You don't think I haven't pissed her off myself. First off, she was probably glad for the help, but at the same time she hates getting help from a guy so that had her irritated immediately. She knows she can do just as much as any of the boys so she doesn't like special treatment. Secondly, telling her how much she is like Ingrid isn't something she doesn't need to be reminded of. She isn't Ingrid. Is she a lot a like her, no doubt. But she is also a Eld," said Asmund.

"How do you not say it when she acts like her mother?" asked Spitelout. It was so hard not to see his deceased friend in her daughter. He wanted to hold onto something of his friend.

"I don't say anything but I still think it. It's not worth the argument. Trust me some days she is a miniature Ingrid. She doesn't like being at the docks, too many men that don't get what she is capable of. But you and I both know that will never change," said Asmund.

"I'm not saying she's isn't capable but she can't do everything by herself," said Spitelout.

"I'm not saying she can. Ingrid did the same thing. I did it too. It's just the Viking stubbornness in us," said Asmund.

"She stormed off somewhere," said Spitelout.

"Into the forest. She's fine, probably went fishing," said Asmund.

"That doesn't concern you?" asked Spitelout.

"Nope, she can take care of herself out there," said Asmund "I'd rather have her out there then on the docks."

"She's really unhappy there," said Spitelout.

"Try telling Stoic that. I know she is," said Asmund.

"He's going to get shocked one of these days when she finally does what she did to me today to him," said Spitelout.

"If he keeps pushing her it will be sooner rather than later," said Asmund. He knew it was impossible to take the Viking out of a girl. It wasn't worth trying to correct. He just let her be herself when he can.

"She's a Viking, what can you expect," said Spitelout. He knew it wasn't the same for girls as it was boys. Boys can be pushed to be a Viking. Girls were either born that way or not.

"I better go find her before Stoick sends out a search party," said Asmund.

For many people there was no logic to the forest. He wasn't a man of the forest but he sure did know his way around one. The few years he was married to Ingrid he had learned the forest from edge to edge. She used to disappear into the forest for hours on end but he always knew where to find her. He assumed Kari wasn't so different.

Deep into the woods near a roaring creek Kari had her fishing rod casted into the creek while she was petting with what Asmund couldn't believe. Kari was petting and playing fetch with a dragon. He hadn't seen such a dragon in many years. It was called a Stormcutter. It was a stunning dragon, noting quite like it. The way it behaved reminded Kari of a owl,.The way it's neck turned all around. The cracking of sticks made Kari turn around.

"Dad, this isn't what it looks like," said Kari trying to stand between Sigfrid and her dad. Not like she could block the view of the gigantic dragon.

"I'm not sure of that. To me it looks like you made a pet out of a dragon," said Asmund with one eyebrow rose up.

"Okay, it is what it looks like but please don't tell," begged Kari. She knew Stoic would kill Sigfrid then banish her. She didn't want either to happen.

"Why would I tell? We'd both be banished," said Asmund getting closer.

Sigrid flapped her wings and made a high pitched squeal. She rose up on her back legs. Kari turned and faced Sigfrid. She looked into Sigfrid's dark blue eyes. She made a few shh sounds in varying pitches. Sigfrid calmed down. She ducked her head under Kari's arm still stalking Asmund.

"How do you do that?" asked Asmund. He was so fascinated by dragon. He couldn't believe Kari that was playing with a dragon like a dog. He could have never imagined this is what his daughter did in her free time.

"I met her the last trip with mom. I came out once a week and fed her fish. She really likes halibut and salmon but her favorite is crawfish but she really likes rodents. After all these years I've learned a lot about her," said Kari.

"Amazing. Your mother would be so proud of you. And I am proud of you too," said Asmund.

"I'm going against everything we believe in. I'm going against everything any Viking on Berk has ever done. Why are you proud of that?" asked Kari blushing.

"You did something we never had the courage to do. You aren't hiding yourself away. You know who you are. This is where you belong not on the sea. You know what we've known our whole lives but never did anything about," said Asmund embracing his daughter. She was his whole world. He didn't have enough words to say just how special she was. He always knew that her fate lied within dragons, ever since Gothi first told her of her gifts he suspect it would be with dragons.

"How am I being myself when I work on the sea and hid away into the forest?" asked Kari.

"Sometimes you have to live a double life. But you mother and I had never lived our double lives to the fullest. We had never befriended a dragon," said Asmund.

"How can I kill a dragon but not Sigfrid? And yes ,that's her name" asked Kari.

"There is always an exception to the rule. There once was a Monstrous Nightmare I just couldn't kill," said Asmund.

"What is wrong with us?" asked Kari. She had wondered that her whole life. She didn't understand why she had to be different. She just couldn't be your typical Viking.

"Nothing. The Gods gifted us with a different insight, but we are no less Viking. We are just a different type of Viking. We were born this way," said Asmund.

"No one will ever understand us. They will never be able to understand this way of life," said Kari breaking the hug looking deep into the forest.

Asmund knew she was right. Only be a miracle of the gods would Clan of Hairy Hooligan be able to accept dragons. Maybe it was time to stop running from himself. He was a traveler by heart. A trip could change everything. He'd help Stoick and they'd set across the ocean to find the part of them that was missing for the winter. It was the only way to make Stoick see the truth.

"Let's travel away from here before the Big Freeze," said Asmund.

Kari looked at her father unsure if he was serious. The sea was dangerous in the winter. She had any idea of what he was thinking. She knew by the gleam in his green eyes they had the same idea. She looked at Sigfrid. She knew what she wanted.

"Let's do it," said Kari. She yearned for nothing more than to avoid the cold weather on Berk.

"A few months away from the brutal cold months sounds great until then we work to help Stoick and prepare ourselves," said Asmund.

"Deal," said Kari "but what about Stoick?"

"Leave him to me. I want you to finish with the boats. Tomorrow we prepare the dock for the harsh winter then we come out here and start preparing for our own trip," said Asmund.

"Okay. I'll be back tomorrow," said Kari. She knew she had to figure out how to ride Sigfrid. She refused to travel by ship.

Kari went back down the dock. It was nearing dark but that wasn't going to stop her. She had a reason to work. She got the final three ships into the shelter. Her hands were freezing by the time she got done. She went home and started to smoke the fish she had caught today.

Meanwhile, Asmund went to speak to Stoick. He had a plan. He would take the Eld family longboat, they never use it for much more than fishing. He'd take the ship and Kari could ride the dragon. It was something they have to do.

"Stoick, Kari's getting the ships put away," said Asmund.

"Good," said Stoick.

"There is something I'd like to tell you," said Asmund.

Stoick was holding a block to his head. He was only hearing bits and of what Asmund was saying. He respected Asmund but didn't see him at the same level playing field. It often caused problems between the two because both were very proud men.

"Kari and I are going to help with the Big Freeze but we are taking the Eld family boat and going traveling during the winter to warmer islands. I've always wanted to travel and Kari needs a break from life on Berk. I'll be back for the First Thaw," said Asmund.

"You are going to sail alone with a fourteen-year-old girl for nine months," said Stoick not believing what he was hearing.

"Yes," spat Asmund. He glowered at Stoick not liking his tone or the way he implied Kari was weak. He didn't know Kari that well. Asmund tried to keep his temper for the sake of the trip.

"I don't think so," said Stoick.

"I wasn't asking for permission," said Asmund.

"I wasn't suggesting," said Stoick.

"I'd like to see you try to stop me," said Asmund firmly. He stormed out. He had enough. He would not be told what he can do anymore.

Asmund stormed into the house. He slammed the door shut. Kari nearly dropped the perch she had caught into the fire. She didn't need to ask to know that her father was angry with Stoick.

"We are going to board up the house tonight. We are going to pack and leave tonight," said Asmund.

"I haven't had time to try to ride Sigfrid," said Kari. She didn't even know of Sigfrid would let her ride and she was going to spend that much time on the boat.

"Pack and try to go ride that dragon. Then, meet me at the beach where your mother died," said Asmund.

"Okay then," said Kari. She packed the smoked fish. She gathered up her fishing supplies, clothes, shield, axe and daggers. That was all that mattered to her.

"I'm getting the boat and loading it up. Let's get the house boarded for winter," said Asmund. It was dark out but no one should be asleep yet, which meant no one would come out yelling angrily.

Kari held up the boards as Asmund hammered the boards. The boarded up the windows and the door. Asmund took their stuff down to the boat. He was carrying fishing supplies, fish, weaving materials, blankets, and a lantern. Kari took off into the forest.

Sigfrid was trying to catch fish in a pond. She jumped around Kari wagging her tail when she saw her. She was making all sorts of snapping sounds. She was grinning and prancing around.

"I'm glad to see you too. We're going to take a trip for a few months. You won't have to be out in the cold for the winter but that means going on a ship. A ship is made of wood so no fire. We won't be on a ship all the time though but I can't leave you here," said Kari.

Sigfrid turned her head around looking at Kari curiously. She wondered what her human friend was trying to tell her. It's not like she didn't know what a boat was or what it was made of. She wasn't a dumb dragon.

"Well, that leads me to a question. I can't believe I'm asking a dragon for permission but let's just roll with it. Will you let me ride you? I know that it's a huge deal, it's like taking away your freedom but I'm not going to cage you or anything. You can do whatever you want. I just don't want to be on the ship all the time and you won't either," said Kari.

Sigfrid chuckled at her human friend with her head bopping and clicking sounds. She bowed down to let Kari on. There was nothing like flying. She had wanted to show her human friend what it was just to fly and to enjoy flying. One does not know a dragon until they have flown, hence why humans don't understand dragons.

Kari got onto the back of Sigfrid. The scales felt weird against Kari's skin. She wasn't sure what to do with her hands. She was still trying to figure out what to do with her hands when Sigfrid expanded her wings and shot into the sky.

"Oh my gods!" screamed Kari trying to find something to grab onto.

Sigfrid kept soaring up and into the clouds. Kari gasped as Sigrid even out into the clouds. Kari looked up and saw the most stunning view of the stars as she had ever seen. It was stunning. Kari had never seen the stars so clearly. She found she didn't need to do anything with her hands.

"This is amazing," gasped Kari in awe. The air was so crisp. The Big Freeze was coming for sure. Part of her felt bad for leaving like this but she knew once her father decided something there was no arguing. She also felt bad for not saying goodbye to anyone. She hoped they'd forgive her when she got back. She was excited but nervous at the same time. Going off into unknown shores was a bit scary but she knew she may never get the chance again.

"We have to go to the beach," said Kari. Her voice piercing the silence. She covered her mouth feeling like she doing something against the gods.

Sigfrid tucked in her second pair of wings and dove sharply. The wind was rushing so quickly past Kari she couldn't have even screamed if she had. She couldn't believe the speed Sigfrid had. There wasn't a word for how this felt. Kari closed her eyes thinking they were coming towards land to quickly. Sigfrid snapped her wings open and then they came to a soft trot onto the sand. Kari opened one eye to see they were safely on land. Kari hopped off.

"That was amazing," said Kari her eyes wide with wonder.

Sigfrid parade around Kari very proud with herself. She liked feeling that her human friend was happy with her. Sigfrid knew the friendship was forbidden. She had been shunned by the other dragons after trying to return to the nest after that fateful night. But she had found it wasn't that bad as long as she stayed away from the other wild dragons. Not a single dragon understood her bond with Kari. There was something special about this human. She was determined to find out what it was.

Together they sat on the beach for an hour. Kari was tense the entire time. She hated this beach. She could just feel the angry spirits. She knew they were watching her. Sigfrid growled at the spirits when they came to close or chased them around the beach trying to kill them with spitting fire until she realized they couldn't be killed so she settled for growling and chasing them.

The Eld family boat finally slowly coasted towards the beach. It came to halt before it would have been beached. Kari made clicking sounds until Sigfrid stopped chasing the spirits and let her ride again. They launched from the beach onto the deck of the boat. The Eld family boat was like no other boat on Berk. It had a hull, which made it perfect for mass fishing. It was also severed as a good war ship, thought it hadn't seen battle waters in several generations.

"Stunning dragon," said Asmund shaking his head.

Sigfrid bopped her head up and down making a throaty sound while rubbing up to Asmund. The man human was growing on Sigfrid. Though he was a dragon slayer he was like girl human. They were different, special. She had to know what made them different. She sniffed around Asmund trying to smell out what made him different from other dragon slayers.

"So where are we going and how does this move without rows?" asked Kari.

"The sail, I just got to turn it around. Then we just ride the winds until we find an island," said Asmund.

"Okay then," said Kari.

Asmund turned around the ship with a contraption Kari had never seen on a boat. It looked like a wheel of a wheelbarrow. Odd thing to have on a boat. She went to where her father was to see how it worked.

"It steers the boat," explained Asmund.

"Strange boat," said Kari.

As soon as the boat cleared the cove the wind caught the sail and the boat soared forward. Sigfrid wasn't too happy about this and made guttural sounds. Sigfrid laid down on the deck tucking her head under her wing trying not to look around. She wasted seasick just not a fan of the boat. Kari patted Sigfrid's neck.

"I know, I know, I don't like it very much either," cooed Kari sitting down next Sigfrid leaning up against her neck. Sigfrid answered with a guttural groan.

Before they even saw land for the first time they had almost gone through their fish supplies and they had been fishing when the wind had died as well. The sight of land was a relief for both dragon and humans. But of course it wasn't an uninhabited island. There were people living there. They clearly didn't have dragon problem since they didn't try to kill Sigfrid. Most were merely curious of the creature. They were Vikings no doubt but lived quite a ways south from Berk. The plants, animals and even the fish were different. Asmund decided with was warm enough for him and they settled down for nine months on the island. Thoughts of Berk was forgotten until they would leave to return to Berk near the time of the First Thaw.

Kari was glad not to have any expectations of chief expecting her to be off killing dragons. She started to like the sea again though she loved the forest but not quite the animals in the forest here. Sigfrid had burned a giant furry thing, she was told was bear, when it tried to eat Kari. Kari deiced she didn't like bears. She found it interesting they kept wolves as pets here. She had never seen a wolf as a good pet but then again most people wouldn't see a dragon as a good pet. She found the fish strange too. She had never seen so many dolphins or ones that weren't scared of humans, though they weren't too fond of Sigfrid.

Without having any responsibilities Kari started learn about Sigfrid. Like Sigfrid liked to hang from trees to sleep. That she hated thunderstorms and eels. That her eyes glowed yellow in the dark. Kari actual started to ride Sigfrid just for fun. She started to communicate with Sigfrid to make her do things while flying like a sharp turn, a complete stop and to shoot out fire on command. However, Kari knew it was dangerous to 'tame' Sigfrid so she would let the dragon wander freely and go into the forest whenever it felt like it. Kari carved a piece of wood to make whistle that made several different types of whistles and taught Sigfrid to respond to the different whistles differently. One meant dinner time, another meant danger or help and the last meant come.

While, Kari and Sigfrid were learning about each other Asmund found he was bored without work. He helped the foreign clan make boats, since they had none. He started to learn about the Vanguard Clan. They seemed less violent than the Hairy Hooligans. They also lived different. Their homes had several floors, they had contraptions that they put into the water and caught large amount of fish, and they ate mostly plants. It was different but he noticed changes with the way Kari looked. Her hair became a brighter red and her skin had a glow to it. His own hair was a bright red and his skin was a bronze color. He also found he was building more muscle as was Kari. He was fascinated by this and connected the change to the food.

But it wasn't just the food that interested Asmund. There was a widowed woman that caught his eye. Her name was Embla. Embla's husband had died many years ago to an illness that took the lives of three of their children. She raised her two remaining children on her own. None of the men on island had interest in her. Her dark brown hair and pale skin deterred suitors. But being from Berk that didn't denture Asmund. Though Embla was not so easily flattered by Asmund's affections for the first two months but after a while Asmund started to grow on her. However, her oldest and Kari were close in age, which meant they didn't always get along. But Kari adored her youngest and seemed to get along right. Embla had a hard time getting her son, Hagen, to understand that girls weren't personal slaves or worthless. The only thing that got Hagen to change was when Kari punched him and knocked him out for a few minutes. Embla was appalled but Asmund praised Kari's behavior. After that Hagen started to think about what he said not wanting to feel pain or be humiliated again. Sylvi, whom was thirteen, was easily influenced by Kari and started to act more like a Viking form Berk then a Vanguard, much to the dismay of Embla. It was no surprised to the clan when Asmund asked for approval to marry Embla. It was a sort of peace offering. However, this was going to be interesting to explain to Stoick.

The First Thaw neared and Asmund knew it was time to leave. A promise was made to return twice a year was made. Only after that promise did Embla agree to go with Asmund. However, Hagen was very unhappy about leaving his home let alone being on a boat for several weeks. Sylvi was scared but excited as Kari told stories about Berk. Kari was excited to be going back. She missed her friends, she missed Berk but she was going to miss not being able to have Sigfrid around all the time. She was coming home with a different perspective and the confidence to stand up Stoick if she had to. Nine months had really changed a lot. Kari was still afraid that Hiccup would be angry with her, after all the other teenagers on the island weren't always friendly to Hiccup. Which was shame, Kari could see the brilliance in Hiccup and saw what everyone missed out on.

As much as Hiccup annoyed her Kari really did care about Hiccup. She really found she missed him on her birthday, it wasn't the same without him. He missed his crazy inventions he would give as gifts. Sure, she had gotten hurt but a few but that didn't stop her from liking what he came up with. She missed the twins as well, she hoped they hadn't killed each other. She knew deep down they weren't as dumb as they appeared she had seen moments of extreme intelligence in them. She had also seen them really truly care about each other, but if she ever told anyone they might just kill her. She hoped her disappearing wouldn't ruin what little friendship was forming with Astrid. It wasn't that Astrid wasn't nice but she was so competitive and independent that they just clash. Snotlout was someone she hadn't missed much. He better hope he didn't bother Hiccup that much though. She had learned how to punch Hagen from punching Snotlout. They were similar in build. She really knew how to make him hurt now since for the first month of his father's new marriage she had punched Hagen at twice a week. It barely hurt at all to punch him now.

It took two weeks and six days to get back to Berk. Sigfrid had attempted to eat Hagen once and Kari had threaten to throw up overboard twice. Kari jumped off the boat as soon as she saw the cove. She rode Sigfrid to the beach.

"Alright girl, we have to go back to the way it was before. I promise I will come out as much as I can but you have to stay away from the village. I hope someday soon things will change," said Kari. Sigfrid looked at Kari sadly. Kari threw a fish onto the beach to distract Sigfrid.

Kari had to swim up the boat and be pulled back onboard by her father. The neared the docks of Berk. Kari could see people gathered by the docks and the catapults. As they got closer Stoick, who was at the beach waved off the people at the catapults. All negativity towards Berk disappeared as the three new family members were amazed by Berk's dramatic landscape.

"Hey there, look what the wind blew in," said Stoick. If he had been angry it had been forgotten.

"Tell anyone about Sigfrid and I will personally kill you," whispered Kari into Hagen's ear. Hayden paled not doubting Kari ability to kill him.

Asmund tossed a ladder down for everyone to get off without breaking a leg or falling into the water. Asmund was the first to hop off followed by Kari. Embla warily joined her husband and daughter. Sylvi and Hagen fought over who should get off first. Sylvi won by smacking Hagen in the back of the head.

"How was the Big Freeze?" asked Asmund.

"Brutal as always. Why don't we go and have a drink. Tell me about your travels," said Stoick slapping Asmund on the back.

"Well, I think we need to talk sober first," chuckled Asmund.

"Ah yes, about this beautiful women here no doubt," said Stoick.

"And a few other things," chuckled Asmund.

"Sure thing," said Stoick. He turned his attention towards Kari.

"And look at you, young lady. Finally starting to look like a young warrior," beamed Stoick.

Kari turned bright red. She wasn't exactly comfortable with her feminine growth. She really tried to ignore it and when she couldn't anymore thank the gods for Embla. She still was comfortable with the changes she had in the last nine months. It also took her a while to adjust to the few extra inches she had gained. Hagen snickered at Kari's discomfort. Kari punched his arm hard.

"Finally we don't have to worry about you getting trampled by dragons during the dragon attacks or hunts," chuckled Stoick "and a good firm punching arm."

Embla gave Asmund that look of you-didn't-tell-me-about-any-dragon-hunts. It had been made clear to Embla, Sylvi and Haden that dragons weren't a typical pet and could get them in huge trouble if anyone found out. It was made clear that most dragons would kill them without a second thought. Also that the Hairy Hooligan clan kills and hunts dragons.

"And these two are?" asked Stoick.

"I'm Haden," said Haden arrogantly offering a hand for a handshake. Stoick shook the hand. Haden had looks on his side. He was tall, blond, and muscular. All good things on Berk for men.

"Sylvi," said Sylvi cutting to the chase. Unlike her brother she had no need for formality. She had learned from Kari to be straight-forward. It wasn't the Vanguard way but the Hairy Hooligan way. Asmund chuckled. He knew that Sylvi would fit in right away.

"Now that one is a Viking," said Stoick.

"They are all Vikings Stoick. That one just hangs around Kari more often," said Asmund.

"I can tell," said Stoick, before asking, "And this beautiful woman would be?"

"I'm Embla," said Embla in a similar manner to her son, though much less more arrogant. She did not offer her hand because well in Vanguard clan women were not equal to men. They had less worth. It was much harder for her to change than she thought.

"Hiccup!" boomed Stoick.

"Yes, dad," said Hiccup popping up from behind Stoick, after slowly making his way through the crowd.

"You and Kari show Haden and Sylvi around," said Stoick.

"I can show them around perfectly fine," said Kari. She had to make it a point now she wasn't going to blindly follow orders.

"Indeed you can but I'm sure you'd like to see the new buildings," said Stoick. He was taken aback but not surprised. He could tell by the way she stood that she made more confidence now.

"There are new buildings nearly every week," grinned Kari "that would take ages to see them all. They'd be building more while we were still looking."

"Now that's the Viking you were born with," laughed Stoick. He swore he was talking to a red-headed Ingrid. He couldn't believe the change that had happened in the girl he had known nine months ago and the young Viking before him. She was confident and vocal. He felt like he had never known Kari, "This is why I'm glad I have a son."

"Nah, you should hear those two fight. Damn lucky one of them didn't end up getting fed to sharks on the way here," said Asmund.

Kari pulled Haden away by his shirt and Sylvi followed close to Kari not because she was scared more like she didn't want to get lost in the crowd. Kari followed Hiccup. Haden pulled away pressing his shirt down to keep the wrinkles away. Sylvi rolled her eyes at her older brother.

"So how has Berk been?" asked Kari once they broke away from the crowd and entered the village.

"Cold and brutally cold," said Hiccup sharply. Kari rolled her eyes. _So he was going to play this game?_

"So been working on anything interesting?" asked Kari.

"Like you care," grumbled Hiccup.

Kari had enough. So she had left without a goodbye and had ditched him the day she had left. She wasn't going to let Hiccup talk to her like they weren't friends. They had been friends most of their life. They were each other's first true friend.

"Will you get over yourself? So I left without goodbye, it was a bit unplanned. Your father had me working all day, how was I supposed to do anything with you. It was nine months ago for Thor's sake," said Kari.

"Will I get over myself? You're the one sucking up to my dad," said Hiccup.

"Honestly, that's what you think? I'm not sucking up to your dad. I'm not going to be bossed around by anyone anymore, not even the chief. I don't want to be working to the point I'm falling asleep walking. I had to make my stance," said Kari.

"Since when has that mattered?" asked Hiccup.

"Since I was twelve. You get to do what you want. I didn't get a choice in what I was able to do. I was miserable and I refuse to go back to that," said Kari.

"You think you can just prance in Berk and act like you're my friend after being gone nine months," said Hiccup knowing he was losing the argument.

"Gods! Now we are back to that. If someone other than a stubborn Viking in there is inside of Hiccup's head, listen to me. I didn't have a choice about the trip once my father decides on something there is no stopping him and for the last time just because I am with other people other than you doesn't mean I'm not your friend," said Kari knocking on Hiccup's head.

"Whoa, who's that," said Snotlout as he walked with Astrid, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Fishlegs.

"That's Kari you dimwit," said Astrid glaring at Snotlout.

"Who's that big dude," said Tuffnut.

"Can you two be any louder?" asked Astrid.

"Hey there Astrid, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Snotlout, it's been a while" said Kari purposely leaving Snotlout last knowing it would irritate him.

"Where did you run off to? Leaving in the middle of night without even a goodbye," asked Astrid putting her hand on her hip.

"Oh just my crazy dad having an out of the wind idea to go on a trip on a boat to get away from the Big Freeze," replied Kari casually. She would have never dreamed she could talk to Astrid like that. It seemed natural now. She guessed changed wasn't that bad after all.

"Oh really, I had an aunt that tried to sail to the end of the world. You know that story. You'll have to tell me about it," said Astrid.

"Where was she?" asked Ruffnut scratching her head.

"She didn't say," said Fishlegs.

"Talk to you guys later," said Kari turning back to Hiccup.

Hiccup started to explain to Sylvi and Haden about the dragon attacks. Sylvi tried to act natural but it was a bit nerve wrecking. It was going to be hard not to see Sigfrid in with the wild dragons. Haden was distracted and kept looking back at the group of teenagers. He move behind Kari. Kari looked behind her to see what in Odin's name was Haden doing. She gave him a weird look but ignored him.

"Quit staring at my sister's butt!" yelled Haden suddenly, making Kari, Sylvi and Hiccup jump.

Snotlout took off running behind Astrid and the others. He wasn't sticking around to wait to see what Haden would do. A couple of the adults burst out laughing, including Spitelout. Kari rolled her eyes at Haden. He was a pain in the ass, like all Vikings were, but he did seem to care.

"I think you solved your Snotlout problem," laughed Hiccup unable to keep the laughter in.

"That's more effective than punches or threatening him ever was," agreed Kari taking it in stride. Sylvi looked at Kari in surprised. She would have died if Haden had announced that to the whole village.

"I see ole Asmund the Amazing decided it was time to get married again. Must have found quite the woman on another island," said Spitelout to a few other men.

"Like son like father," said Kari quietly. Hiccup nodded. Sylvi and Haden had no idea who Spitelout was.

"Hey! That's my mother you're talking about!" yelled Kari. She was defending Embla while proving a point to Spitelout. She took advantage on show up Spitelout.

"Finally using those ears of yours," yelled back Spitelout.

"Only when I want to," responded Kari.

Spitelout laughed it off. There was no way he couldn't. Kari was something else before, but no one knew what to make of her right now. He never was quite able to get as irritated with her as he did with the other teenagers. Mostly because he knew how much of a pain in the ass Asmund and Ingrid were angry. He was second-in-command, so he had to deal with Kari more so than the other teenagers because of the fact she had been on the docks so much.

One thing was for sure with the return of Asmund and Kari. Berk was never going to be the same. With three Eld teenagers running around, whom clearly were born Vikings and aren't afraid to show it. It didn't matter they weren't all related by blood they all had learned the Eld family behaviors and mannerisms, even if they weren't aware of it. Life on Berk had gotten more interesting.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

This was so much fun to write. I loved wrapping this part of the story up. But don't worry there will be a sequel. Though if you have made it this far please review, they will motivate me to get the sequel out faster. I want to make this clear chapter five starts a year before the movie and ends a few months before the movie. I'd also really like to thank RedDragonforce 1 for beta-reading the whole story. It wouldn't be nearly as good without his help, go check out his stories. Also please check out my profile for the cover art contest and the list of prizes for my context clue question.

So what is the context clue question? Well it's a question you have to figure out from the story/series and answer. This will be done weekly. Please answer in a review or a PM, if there is not a chapter that week, please check my profile for these.

The question of the week of _12/1 to 12/7_ is When is Kari's birthday?


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